The efficacy of an improved form of the mass‐trapping method for the control of the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) was tested for 4 years in a pilot test at Tanagra Voeotia, Greece. Improvements consisted of the extension of the active life of the toxic trap used, active life referring both to its attracting and killing properties, as well as in trap deployment, which combined efficacy and low cost. The method was compared to bait sprays applied from the ground, which constitutes the current standard method for the control of this pest. Both pest population density and fruit infestation levels, the main parameters used for the evaluation of the two methods were considerably lower during all 4 years of tests in the orchards protected by mass trapping compared with those in the orchards protected by bait sprays. Furthermore no complementary measures were required in the mass‐trapping orchards for acceptable crop protection, which was not the case under certain conditions, prior to the introduction of the recent improvements. The cost of the mass‐trapping method was approximately US$ 0.40 per tree per year compared with US$ 0.35 for bait sprays (figures of the Greek Ministry of Agriculture). However, the mass‐trapping method reduces the amount of insecticide used for olive protection by 99.5% (15 mg a.i. per tree per year as opposed to 3 g in the case of bait sprays). A considerable reduction in the cost of the mass‐trapping method is expected with the extension of its use and the mass production of materials used, especially traps.

In the framework of an ongoing testing and refining process of a mass trapping method, using a combination of semiochemicals, for the control of the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera (Dacus) oleae, four trap designs, three trap colors, six different food attractants and two pheromone formulations were compared under field conditions. No differences were observed between the trap designs and the food attractants tested. Trap color had a significant effect in preference tests only. Traps combining food attractants and pheromones attracted higher numbers of both male and female flies but the differences became statistically significant only in cases of low trap densities. Pheromones enclosed in cyclodextrenes were not as attractive as standard pheromone formulations. The findings of these tests allow a choice among trap types and semiochemicals for cost reduction and convenience, but not for enhancement of the efficacy of the method.

The search for effective female attractants emanating from the host or body of fruit flies has been an area of intensive research for over three decades. In the present study, bodies of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), were extracted with diethyl ether or methanol and subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Analysis revealed substantial qualitative and quantitative differences between males from a laboratory culture and wild males captured alive in an orchard. Most notably, the hydrocarbon sesquiterpene (±)-α -copaene, which is known to be involved in the sexual behaviour of the species, was found in substantial amounts in wild males, but was not detected in laboratory males. In laboratory tests, 15 laboratory or wild male equivalents of diethyl ether extracts or combined diethyl ether and methanol extracts, or, to a lesser extent, methanol extracts alone, were found to attract virgin females. In a citrus orchard, traps baited with combined diethyl ether and methanol extracts of wild males attracted significantly more virgin females than traps baited with various doses of pyranone or blends of other compounds identified in the extracts or reported in the literature, such as ethyl acetate, ethyl-( E )-3-octenoate, and 1-pyrroline. Traps baited with blends of compounds, however, displayed substantial attractiveness compared to control (non-baited) traps. These results are important for better understanding the mating system of C. capitata as well as for further improving existing monitoring and control systems.

No abstract

To clarify questions regarding the effectiveness of the many different types of traps and semiochemicals used for the monitoring and the control of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Τephrititae), seven trap types, four food attractants, one sex attractant and a combination of food and sex attractant, were evaluated under field conditions in orange orchards in fall. No major differences were observed between trap designs resembling the original McPhail glass trap. The plastic bottle trap of 1,5L volume, with four side openings for one-way fly entrance, proved very efficient when filled with a proteinaceous food attractant Ζ1. From the attractants, two of them, Ζ1 and Entomela showed the best performance. The combination of food and a sex attractant showed no significant synergistic effects on trap efficiency. The findings allow a better choice among trap types and attractants, available today in the market, for Medfly monitoring and control.