The Evolution of Fruit Fly Feeding Behavior

As immatures and often as adults, tephritid fruit flies eat to fuel daily survival and to acquire the resources critical for reproduction. Tephritid larvae spend most of their time feeding (they rarely do anything else), usually on the substrate or host they were placed on by their female parent. Hence, the evolution of larval feeding behavior is intimately related to the evolution of oviposition behavior. Most adult tephritids must find and consume fuel for their daily activities, and may forage for reproductive resources not acquired during the larval stage, thus forging a link between adult feeding and reproductive behavior.