Biodemography of the Mediterranean fruit fly: Aging, longevity and adaptation in the wild

►A newly-discovered life table identity relates population age structure and death distribution. ►Wild captured medflies live longer than individuals that never experienced life in the wild. ►Life expectancy of different medfly biotypes (e.g. Kenyan; Guatemalan) differ by up to 2-fold. ►Medfly reproduction is adapted to its survival characteristics.