The CABIM3, enriched space for the improvement of fruit flies used in the sterile insect technique, first approaches

Abstract The High Biosecurity House of the Mediterranean Fly in Metapa (CABIM3, in its Spanish acronym) is a space within the new Moscamed Mexico facility designed to select favorable traits that mitigate the negative effects of mass production while enhancing male competitiveness, ultimately increasing the efficiency of the sterile insect technique (SIT). The CABIM3 serves as an environmentally enriched space where insects, whose offspring will initiate the mass production process, are confined. In this study, the sexual performance of males and oviposition behavior of females from mass‐reared and wild strains of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) and A. obliqua (Macquart) were compared under field cage conditions, inside CABIM3 and in an orchard, to evaluate the suitability of CABIM3's environmental conditions, including light intensity, temperature, and relative humidity. The results revealed significant differences in male sexual performance and female oviposition behavior between the CABIM3 areas and the orchard. Despite these differences, our findings suggest that a breeding facility like CABIM3 could be a valuable tool for improving the attributes of insects used in SIT programs.