We determined how male and female Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), allocate time between feeding and reproductive activities in 2 agricultural habitats in coastal Israel. We determined diurnal temporal distribution patterns between and within various hosts, established when and where feeding and reproductive activities take place, and identified the primary sources of nutrition in the field. The synchronized behavior of the population indicates a daily periodic movement between copulatory, oviposition, feeding, and resting sites. Male activities were regimented and discrete with a clear separation between feeding and reproductive activities, whereas females engaged in different behaviors throughout the day. Males congregated in leks on pitanga trees, Eugenia uniflora, from midmorning to early afternoon, and rarely engaged in other activities during this period. Fruit guarding, an alternative tactic, occurred mainly in the late afternoon. Feeding was observed primarily in the evening on ripe and rotten fruit, leaf surfaces, and fresh bird feces. We postulate that although food itself is not a limited resource, time to consume it without the threat of predation limits and regulates feeding behavior of these flies.
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Warburg et al. (1997) studied this question.