Aerial Broadcast of Free-Falling Pupae of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly for Sterile-Release Programs

Free-falling pupae of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) reached a constant terminal velocity of fall of 6 m/sec within the 1st 3 m of fall. The percentage eclosion of pupae recovered after falls of 60 m onto bare rocky ground, grassy fields, and forest cover was 41, 82, and 62%, respectively. Pupae dropped within 2 days of eclosion were less injured than younger pupae. The posteclosion mortality of flies dropped as pupae was 10-20% greater than that of the controls in the 1st week; thereafter, the mortality rate of flies dropped as pupae was less than or equal to that of the controls. In a 5-km2 plot about twice a, many flies were recovered from those dropped 90 m as bagged young adult, as from those dropped as free-falling pupae.