Oviposition preference
When exposed to equal masses of cultivated and wild blackberries,
laboratory-reared female D. suzukii laid more eggs in wild fruit
(Fig. 4; 0.80 ± 0.05 SEM for wild, 0.20 ± 0.05 for cultivated; p
< 0.0001, t13 = 5.72, Student t-test). The
number of wild berries per replicate varied (1-9 berries/replicate,
median = 5 berries) due to the variability in the weights of the
cultivated berries (0.82-4.41 g/berry, median weight = 3.38 g). However,
when exposed to a single berry of each type, that preference was
reversed (Fig. 4; 0.14 ± 0.05 for wild, 0.86 ± 0.05 for cultivated, p
< 0.0001, t12 = 4.65).