Attraction and Mortality of <I>Bactrocera dorsalis</I> (Diptera: Tephritidae) to STATIC Spinosad ME Weathered Under Operational Conditions in California and Florida: A Reduced-Risk Male Annihilation Treatment

Abstract

Studies were conducted in 2013-2014 to quantify attraction, feeding, and mortality of male oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), to STATIC Spinosad ME a reduced-risk male annihilation treatment (MAT) formulation consisting of an amorphous polymer matrix in combination with methyl eugenol (ME) and spinosad compared with the standard treatment of Min-U-Gel mixed with ME and naled (Dibrom). Our approach used a behavioral methodology for evaluation of slow-acting reduced-risk insecticides. ME treatments were weathered for 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 d under operational conditions in California and Florida and shipped to Hawaii for bioassays. In field tests using bucket traps to attract and capture wild males, and in toxicity studies conducted in 1-m(3) cages using released males of controlled ages, STATIC Spinosad ME performed equally as well to the standard formulation of Min-U-Gel ME with naled for material aged up to 28 d in both California and Florida. In laboratory feeding tests in which individual males were exposed for 5 min to the different ME treatments, mortality induced by STATIC Spinosad ME recorded at 24 h did not differ from mortality caused by Min-U-Gel ME with naled at 1, 7, 14, and 21 d in California and was equal to or higher for all weathered time periods in Florida during two trials. Spinosad has low contact toxicity, and when mixed with an attractant and slow release matrix, offers a reduced-risk alternative for eradication of B. dorsalis and related ME attracted species, without many of the potential negative effects to humans and nontargets associated with broad-spectrum contact insecticides such as naled.

A field test on the effectiveness of male annihilation technique against Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) at varying application densities

“…dorsalis , suggesting that reapplication intervals should also be examined. For tephritids it is generally accepted that weathered lures are less attractive than fresh [46–49], but there are cases where aged lures are more attractive (i.e., capture more flies per unit time). Working with B .…”

An Overview of Pest Species of Bactrocera Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the Integration of Biopesticides with Other Biological Approaches for Their Management with a Focus on the Pacific Region

“…In initial small-scale trials in Hawaii and subsequent weathering trials in California, Vargas et al [ 56 , 57 ] provided evidence that reduced-risk formulations of SPLAT with ME and spinosad (AKA SPLAT-MAT-spinosad-ME (ISCA Technologies, Riverside, CA USA) or STATIC TM (Dow AgroSciences, Inianapolis, IN USA) Spinosad-ME) performed as well as or better than standard Min-U-Gel with naled [ 58 ]. STATIC TM Spinosad-ME has been tested and registered for use in California and Florida and offers a novel and convenient ready-to-use MAT formulation that is safer than the current use of organophosphates that may pose potential negative effects on human and environmental health [ 36 , 59 , 60 ]. A SPLAT-MAT-C-L formulation has also been tested successfully in Hawaii [ 56 ] for use against C-L responding flies.…”

Specialized Pheromone and Lure Application Technology as an Alternative Male Annihilation Technique to ManageBactrocera tryoni(Diptera: Tephritidae)

“…Based on the encouraging results of this study, further evaluations of SPLAT-CL þ spinosad against B. tryoni in Australia are warranted. In recent studies, SPLAT and CL or ME compared favorably with other standard formulations used against B. tryoni (Leblanc et al 2011), B. dorsalis (Vargas et al 2008a(Vargas et al , 2014bGomez et al 2015), and B. cucurbitae (Vargas et al 2008a) for up to 12 wk.…”

“…The few published studies demonstrating the efficacy of SPLAT-MAT against fruit flies have largely focused on the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillett, and Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, in Hawaii (Vargas et al 2008a(Vargas et al , 2009(Vargas et al , 2010(Vargas et al , 2014bGomez 2015), B. dorsalis in Taiwan (Hsu and Tan 2010), and the peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata, in Pakistan (Gomez et al 2015). Only a single study has included B. tryoni (and B. dorsalis), and it was in Tahiti (Leblanc et al 2011).…”