Mass Production of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly at Metapa, Mexico

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), was discovered in Guatemala in 1975, and by 1977 it was reported in Mexico. The Mexican Government, together with the U. S. Department of Agriculture, decided to apply the sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of an integrated pest control program to stop further expansion in distribution of this pest into Mexico and to eliminate it from the Mexican territory. Therefore, a medfly mass rearing facility was built in 1979 at Metapa, Chiapas, Mexico. Its goal was to produce 500 million good quality pupae per week to release over the control area as sterile flies. The rearing methods that permitted the fulfillment of the established goal are described.