Data from: Enhanced survival of mass reared Mediterranean fruit flies via regular diurnal temperature oscillations

Effectively mass rearing insects is critical for research, for environmentally friendly technologies like Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), producing biological control agents, and enabling novel methods such as those based on genetics or symbionts. While constant temperature conditions are typically used in mass rearing, based on the idea that there is an optimum value that produces the most fit insects, homeostatic conditions do not reflect the real world, potentially impacting insect performance in the field. We investigated the performance of mass-reared adult Mediterranean fruit flies (Medflies) under constant (Const24: 24 °C) and oscillating (Osc2: 24 ± 2 °C, Osc5: 24 ± 5 °C) temperature regimes. Male and female survivorship, flight ability, and female fecundity were assessed across the temperature regimes. Additionally, we compared adult medfly performance under environmental chamber and outdoor conditions to determine if temperature and humidity as simulated in the chambers resulted in similar performance outcomes for the insects as being outdoors. Male medflies under the Osc 5 treatment had higher survival probability at 55 days post-emergence compared to the constant temperature regime, while females showed no significant differences in survivorship among temperature regimes. Flight ability and fecundity were not significantly affected by temperature regimes, though the Osc 5 group showed the highest fecundity. Comparisons between environmental chamber and outdoor conditions revealed minimal differences in performance metrics. Our findings suggest that the performance of mass reared male adult medflies under temperature variance in the field can be improved by oscillating temperature regimes in mass-rearing facilities.