begin to pupate. Larvae eat and burrow into the fruit that their mother laid them on. While grapefruits and oranges are preferred, other citrus fruits, pears, apples, and peach are also common hosts and thus food sources. Like other fruit flies, A. ludens need to consume a mixture of amino acids, minerals, carbohydrates, water, and vitamins in order to survive. Adult flies can get their nutrients from raindrops and bird feces, while larvae get all their resources from their host fruit. During pupation, the larvae undergo complete metamorphosis to change into adult flies. Adult The adult fly emerges from the pupal casing and the life cycle begins anew. The new fly finds a dry sheltered spot until it can unfold their wings. There is a period of sexual maturation during which they eat lots of protein which allows for gonadal development. After this period the male is fully sexually active. The female fly can lay over 1500 eggs in its lifetime. These flies are known to be able to go through period of estivation. This ability and their polyphagous nature allows them to be able to survive in poor resource conditions better than other flies as they migrate to find a site with better resources. A. ludens female reproductive potential has been shown to be affected by male-female contact. An experiment showed that combining females and males together in cages during maturation reduced egg production. Mating & parental care Male A. ludens exhibit lek mating and thus do not provide any care for offspring outside of fertilizing the egg. Female A. ludens will use olfactory and visual stimulus to find a good oviposition site. They have been observed landing on potential host fruit and walking around while headbutting the fruit. Once the female makes her decision to lay eggs, she will bore into the fruit and deposit eggs. Then she deposits a host-marking pheromone over her eggs. This pheromone seems to stimulate the female fly. Anastrepha ludens males follow a lek mating strategy in which they provide no parental care for offspring. Males mating strategy involves claiming a territory and defending it from other males through sounds and physical actions. Ideal territories for males are under the leaves of trees that produce citrus fruit. Males deposit their pheromones through their mouth and anus onto the underside of leaves, and they emit an aggressive song by quickly vibrating their wings. Female