A. ludens exhibit mate choice and tend to prefer to mate with larger males. This is thought to be due to larger males singing better mating songs and depositing more sperm into females. The process of a female choosing a mate can take up to 2 hours. Social behavior Larvae will feed on their host fruit for continuous periods of over 24 hours. Larval movement is dictated by the ripeness of the host fruit. After the larvae matures to become an adult, 96% of A. ludens emerge from their burrow hole between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Mating calls of adult flies are observed mostly during late afternoons. These behaviors vary between different species of fruit flies. A. ludens have been observed migrating about 135 km from their breeding site in Mexico to farms in southern Texas. Using release-recapture technique, researchers observed flies moving back and forth between the two habitat areas. Ecology Predators The main natural enemies of A. ludens are parasitoid wasps, specifically in the families Branconidae and Ichneumonidae. Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, Doryctobracon crawfordi, Ganaspis pelleranoi, Biosteres giffardi, B. vandenboschi, and Aceratoneuromyia indica have been released by the governments of the US, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Peru to biologically control A. ludens and other Anastrepha species populations. D. longicaudata and D. crawfordi have been established as the most efficient at controlling population size for this species of flies. Interaction with humans According to the USDA the species is "one of the world's most destructive invasive pests". In 2018, the Texas citrus industry supported nearly 6,000 jobs and accounted for more than $465 million in statewide revenue. The USDA utilizes integrated pest management tactics to control the threat of an invasion. The USDA implements a quarantine zone where wild flies are captured in the United States. Movement of citrus fruit is restricted within the quarantined area. The USDA operates an extensive eradication and suppression campaign against the Mexican Fruit Fly (Mexfly), which includes the use of Sterile Insect Technique. Sterile flies are released by the hundreds of millions to suppress the invasive population. Other tactics deployed by the USDA include the use of preventative pesticide application and biocontrol tactics by releasing parasitoid wasps, which are natural A. ludens predators. There has been at least one Mexfly quarantine in Texas on an annual basis for over 80 years. The Texas Department of Agracalture (TDA) advises anyone with citrus trees