Mass-rearing protocols must be developed, in particular, a cost-effective larval diet, to implement the sterile insect technique against Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann). The key elements of this diet are the optimal nutrients and their concentrations, diet supports or bulking agents, and the pH of the diet. To improve the currently used formulation and develop a more cost-effective diet, in the present study, we evaluated various supports, sugar contents, nutrient proportions and pH levels. Egg-to-pupa recovery was found to increase when agar was replaced with sponge cloth in the diet. Although low, the recovery values obtained when using the sugarcane bagasse-based diet were similar to those obtained when using the agar-based diet, but the percentage of adult emergence was lower. Larval viability was found to increase when the amount of sugar in the diet was doubled. Yet, it is still necessary to evaluate this diet on a larger scale and determine the feasibility of reusing the sponge cloth to reduce the costs of larval diets.

In this study, new methods to improve the mass production of the Philippines fruit fly Bactrocera philippinensis Drew & Hancock were assessed. A new adult screen cage equipped with perforated egging tubes was designed. The replacement of sweet potato with sugarcane bagasse, rice straw or powdered corn as an alternative bulking agent in the standard artificial larval diet was found to lead to positive results in large-scale rearing. Rearing protocols and product quality control procedures for egg incubation, sieving of pupae and pupal holding were examined. The adoption of these new rearing procedures at low cost was found to increase the production of the Philippines fruit fly in a mass-rearing facility without reducing the fitness of the insect.