Data from: Enhanced survival of mass reared Mediterranean fruit flies via regular diurnal temperature oscillations

Effectively mass rearing insects is critical for research, for environmentally friendly technologies like Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), producing biological control agents, and enabling novel methods such as those based on genetics or symbionts. While constant temperature conditions are typically used in mass rearing, based on the idea that there is an optimum value that produces the most fit insects, homeostatic conditions do not reflect the real world, potentially impacting insect performance in the field. We investigated the performance of mass-reared adult Mediterranean fruit flies (Medflies) under constant (Const24: 24 °C) and oscillating (Osc2: 24 ± 2 °C, Osc5: 24 ± 5 °C) temperature regimes. Male and female survivorship, flight ability, and female fecundity were assessed across the temperature regimes. Additionally, we compared adult medfly performance under environmental chamber and outdoor conditions to determine if temperature and humidity as simulated in the chambers resulted in similar performance outcomes for the insects as being outdoors. Male medflies under the Osc 5 treatment had higher survival probability at 55 days post-emergence compared to the constant temperature regime, while females showed no significant differences in survivorship among temperature regimes. Flight ability and fecundity were not significantly affected by temperature regimes, though the Osc 5 group showed the highest fecundity. Comparisons between environmental chamber and outdoor conditions revealed minimal differences in performance metrics. Our findings suggest that the performance of mass reared male adult medflies under temperature variance in the field can be improved by oscillating temperature regimes in mass-rearing facilities.

高效的大规模饲养昆虫对于研究至关重要，它不仅支持环保技术如绝育昆虫技术（SIT）、生产生物控制剂，而且促进了基于遗传学或共生体的创新方法的发展。尽管在大量饲养过程中通常采用恒定温度条件，基于存在一个最优温度值以产生最适昆虫的假设，这种稳态条件并不能反映真实世界，可能会影响昆虫在田野中的表现。本研究探讨了在恒定温度（Const24：24°C）和波动温度（Osc2：24 ± 2°C，Osc5：24 ± 5°C）条件下大规模饲养的成龄地中海果蝇（Medflies）的性能。在温度条件下评估了雄性和雌性的存活率、飞行能力和雌性的繁殖力。此外，我们还比较了成龄果蝇在环境室和户外条件下的性能，以确定环境室中模拟的温度和湿度是否会导致昆虫在户外产生相似的性能结果。Osc5处理组中的雄性果蝇在55天羽化后相对于恒定温度条件具有更高的存活概率，而雌性在不同温度条件下的存活率无显著差异。飞行能力和繁殖力未受到温度条件的影响，尽管Osc5组显示出最高的繁殖力。环境室和户外条件下的性能比较显示性能指标差异极小。我们的研究结果表明，通过在大量饲养设施中采用波动温度条件，可以提高在田野中温度变化条件下大规模饲养的雄性成龄果蝇的性能。