Field Comparison of Chemical Attractants and Traps for Caribbean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Florida Citrus

Abstract

Field studies in citrus were conducted to compare the following as attractants for the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew): torula yeast-borax; propylene glycol (10%); a two-component lure consisting of ammonium acetate and putrescine; a two-component lure consisting of ammonium bicarbonate and putrescine; and a three-component lure consisting of ammonium bicarbonate, methylamine hydrochloride, and putrescine. Various combinations of these attractants in glass McPhail, plastic McPhail-type (Multi-Lure), and sticky panel traps were investigated in two replicated studies. In one study on wild flies, the most effective and least complex trap-lure combination tested was the Multi-Lure with propylene glycol baited with ammonium acetate and putrescine. This trap-lure combination captured significantly more female and male flies than the standard glass McPhail baited with torula yeast-borax in water. All of the trap-lure combinations were female biased, with an overall average of 80.8% (SEM 1.4) flies captured being female. A second study on laboratory-reared, irradiated flies indicated no significant differences among these trap-lure combinations with respect to number of flies recaptured, although rankings based on mean number of flies recovered per trap per day supported results of the first study. The percentage of flies recaptured that were female (83.0%, SEM 0.9) was statistically the same as in the first study. Weekly percentage recovery of flies during the second study was low, possibly due to our fly release strategy. Future release/recovery studies with laboratory-reared flies would benefit from some basic research on release strategies by using different trap densities and on relating recapture rates of laboratory-reared flies (nonsterile and sterile) to capture rates of wild flies.

Attraction ofCeratitis capitata(Diptera: Tephritidae) and Endemic and Introduced Nontarget Insects to BioLure Bait and Its Individual Components in Hawaii

“…A synergistic effect of propylene glycol in BioLure traps results in increased captures of Anastrepha fruit ßies (Thomas et al 2001, Hall et al 2005, Robacker and Czokajlo 2006, Robacker and Thomas 2007, Thomas 2008). The same effect was shown for nontarget attraction to methyl eugenol traps with an accumulation of dead oriental fruit ßies (Uchida et al 2007).…”

A Novel Attractant for Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) From a Concord Grape Product

“…It has been known for some time that the addition of antifreeze containing propylene glycol to preserve ßies captured in traps baited with synthetic lures (Thomas 2008) actually increases the trap catch (Thomas et al 2001). Later studies by Hall et al (2005) with Caribbean fruit ßies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), and by Robacker and Czokajlo (2006) with Mexican fruit ßies showed that the antifreeze was not attractive by itself but synergized the attractiveness of the synthetic lure. Propylene glycol was not shown to be the synergistic component of the antifreeze in these studies.…”

Electroantennogram and Behavioral Responses ofAnastrepha suspensa(Diptera: Tephritidae) to Putrescine and Ammonium Bicarbonate Lures

“…ammonium bicarbonate, methylamine, and putrescine (Robacker and WarÞeld 1993); and ammonium carbonate, methylamine, and putrescine (Robacker 1999). The commercial two-component lure containing ammonium acetate and putrescine (BioLure; Suterra, Bend, OR) has been shown to be equal to or better than aqueous torula yeast/borax for capture of A. suspensa in Florida (Thomas et al 2001, Hall et al 2005, Holler et al 2006 but less effective in tests conducted in Puerto Rico (Pingel et al 2006). Capture of other Anastrepha species with synthetic lures versus liquid protein baits has been variable as well , Thomas et al 2008.…”