Research Article Wing Morphometry and Acoustic Signals in Sterile and Wild Males: Implications for Mating Success in Ceratitis capitata João Maria Gomes Alencar de Souza, 1 Paulo Augusto de Lima-Filho, 2 Wagner Franco Molina, 1 Lúcia Maria de Almeida, 1 Milson Bezerra de Gouveia, 1 Francisco Pepino de Macêdo, 1 Raul Alberto Laumann, 3 and Beatriz Aguiar Jordão Paranhos 4 1 Department of Cellular Biology and Genetics, Bioscience Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universit´ ario, 59078-970 Natal, RN, Brazil 2 Federal Institute os Science and Tecnology of Rio Grande do Norte, 59500-000 Macau, RN, Brazil 3 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Pq. Est. Biol., Final W5 Norte, 70770-917 Bras´ ılia, Brazil 4 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Embrapa Tropical Semi-arid, BR 428, km 152, 56302-970 Petrolina, PE, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Wagner Franco Molina; molinawf@yahoo.com.br Received 1 December 2014; Revised 28 April 2015; Accepted 29 April 2015 Academic Editor: Rui C. Marques Copyright © 2015 Jo˜ ao Maria Gomes Alencar de Souza et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. he sterile insect technique (SIT) is widely utilized in the biological control of fruit lies of the family Tephritidae, particularly against the Mediterranean fruit ly. his study investigated the interaction between mating success and morphometric variation in the wings and the production of acoustic signals among three male groups of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann): (1) wild males, (2) irradiated with Co-60 (steriles), and (3) irradiated (steriles) and treated with ginger oil. he canonical variate analysis discriminated two groups (males irradiated and males wild), based on the morphological shape of the wings. Among males that emit buzz signals, wild males obtained copulation more frequently than males in Groups 2 and 3. he individuals of Group 3 achieved more matings than those in Group 2. Wild males displayed lower pulse duration, higher intervals between pulses, and higher dominant frequency. Regarding the reproductive success, the morphological diferences in the wings’ shape between accepted and nonaccepted males are higher in wild males than in the irradiated ones. he present results can be useful in programs using the sterile insect technique for biological control of C. capitata. 1. Introduction True fruit lies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are well known world- wide because they infest economically important fruits. In the family, the Mediterranean fruit ly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) is considered one of the most important pests of fruit crops worldwide. Currently, one of the most widely used techniques in controlling C. capitata is the sterile insect technique (SIT), considered a type of autocidal or genetic control, in which the pest is utilized for its own control. Sterile males are released in production areas where they will compete with the wild males to copulate with wild females [1]. In tephritids, such as C. capitata, the mating compatibility between the sterile male and the wild female is problematic, because the species displays a lek mating system charac- terized by active female choice. In male aggregations, at least ive males compete for copulations [2, 3]. When the female approaches the lek, males begin the cohort ritual involving multimodal signals consisting of movements with the head (visual signals), vibration of the wings (sound signals), and pheromone release (chemical signals). In these Hindawi Publishing Corporation e Scientific World Journal Volume 2015, Article ID 526969, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/526969