We investigated carbohydrate, protein, and amino acid consumption by the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). Flies from the laboratory ingested greater amounts of 8% sucrose than of 2, 4, 16, and 32% sucrose; equal quantities of enzymatic yeast hydrolysate (YH) when it was presented to flies sequentially in concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 5% and from 5 to 2.5% larger quantities of YH as its concentration increased from 5 to 60% and greater amounts of the higher-concentration YH regardless of the order of presentation. Flies collected from guavas consumed greater quantities of YH during the first feeding regardless of concentration. Flies reared in the laboratory and collected in the field consumed enzymatic casein hydrolysate in greatest quantities during the first feeding regardless of concentration. All amino acids (as 0.25% in water) were phagostimulatory to males and all amino acids except asparagine were phagostimulatory to females. However, when each amino acid was prepared as a 0.25% solution with 4 g of sucrose, 16 amino acids were phagostimulatory to males, 18 amino acids were phagostimulatory to females, and alanine, arginine, glutamic acid, glycine, isoleucine, and lysine were highly phagostimulatory to both sexes. Cystine and hydroxy-L-proline were highly inhibitory to females, and proline was highly inhibitory to males. The amount of food ingested depended on the concentration and class of the food.
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Sharp et al. (1984) studied this question.