Live fast, die young: Zingerone (ZN) ingestion in Bactrocera jarvisi males

Bactrocera jarvisi is a native Australian fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae), which is strongly attracted to and feeds on Zingerone (ZN) from flowers and fruits. Young males of B. jarvisi are attracted to ZN while they are immature, and after ZN ingestion, males show higher mating success. We studied the effect of ZN ingestion on male sexual maturation, competitive mating behaviour, and female attraction of lab-reared flies. Dissections of male reproductive organs at day 8 after emergence showed that males attracted to ZN were more sexually developed than males unattracted to ZN. ZN-fed males achieved sexual maturation by 10 days after emergence while unfed males became sexually mature by 15 days after emergence. Also, ZN-fed males had the highest mating rates the day after being fed with ZN and the shortest mating latency. ZN-fed males had higher mating success in competitive mating assays and attracted more females in Y-maze olfactometer bioassays. More sexually developed males were attracted to ZN but not allowed to feed on it also showed higher mating rates suggesting that aromatherapy effect. Feeding on ZN allows males to develop faster and have a mating advantage but it also seems to have a physiological cost as shown in the longevity assays with ZN-fed males dying younger than unfed males. B. jarvisi wild male flies were attracted to ZN at 30 days after emergence and were more sexually developed than the unattracted ones. As with the lab-reared male, feeding on ZN accelerated the sexual development of wild males.