Q-flies are currently released as a bisexual strain in SIT programmes. The impact of released males can be greatly diluted by the presence of millions of sexually receptive sterile females, and this has been recognized as a potential limit on the efficacy of SIT. As there is no genetic sexing strain available for Q-fly, and so both males and females would be treated with methoprene prior to field release. If methoprene accelerates sexual maturation in Q-fly females, then these sterile females will mate with the sterile males, reducing the chances that the sterile males attract and mate with wild fertile females. However, if methoprene accelerates maturation in males more than in females, then this treatment could act similar to that of a genetic
