Male lures and the detection of tephritid fruit flies: Assessing the relationships between lure amount and release rate and trap captures of invasive pest species

Shelly, Todd E.; Cloonan, Kevin R.

doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106504

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 112 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, all three of these studies were conducted in rural Keaau, Hawaii under often cloudy, cool, and wet conditions. As differences in humidity, temperature, wind, and vegetation could affect lure release and dispersal as well as the response of B. dorsalis males, the applicability of these Hawaii results to California and Florida was uncertain [20][21][22]. Furthermore, experiments in Hawaii were conducted with highly uniform applications of MAT, mirroring the orderliness of tree rows within a plantation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Less is more: Fewer attract-and-kill sites improve the male annihilation technique against Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Fezza,

Shelly,

Fox

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Male Annihilation Technique (also termed the Male Attraction Technique; “MAT”) is often used to eradicate pestiferous tephritid fruit flies, such as Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel). MAT involves the application of male-specific attractants combined with an insecticide in spots or stations across an area to reduce the male population to such a low level that suppression or eradication is achieved. Currently, implementations of MAT in California and Florida targeting B. dorsalis utilize the male attractant methyl eugenol (ME) accompanied with a toxicant, such as spinosad, mixed into a waxy, inert emulsion STATIC ME (termed here “SPLAT-MAT-ME”). While highly effective against ME-responding species, such applications are expensive owing largely to the high cost of the carrier matrix and labor for application. Until recently the accepted protocol called for the application of approximately 230 SPLAT-MAT-ME spots per km2; however, findings from Hawaii suggest a lower density may be more effective. The present study adopted the methods of that earlier work and estimated kill rates of released B. dorsalis under varying spot densities in areas of California and Florida that have had recent incursions of this invasive species. Specifically, we directly compared trap captures of sterilized marked B. dorsalis males released in different plots under three experimental SPLAT-MAT-ME densities (50, 110, and 230 per km2) in Huntington Beach, CA; Anaheim, CA; and Sarasota-Bradenton, FL. The plots with a density of 110 sites per km2 had a significantly higher recapture proportion than plots with 50 or 230 sites per km2. This result suggests that large amounts of male attractant may reduce the ability of males to locate the source of the odor, thus lowering kill rates and the effectiveness of eradication efforts. Eradication programs would directly benefit from reduced costs and improved eradication effectiveness by reducing the application density of SPLAT-MAT-ME.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Less is more: Fewer attract-and-kill sites improve the male annihilation technique against Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Fezza,

Shelly,

Fox

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of the male medfly, Ceratitis capitata, to thymol and carvacrol ethers

Tabanca,

Cloonan,

Nesterkina

et al. 2024

Pest Management Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUNDThe Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the most economically important insect pests attacking fruits and vegetables in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Semiochemical‐based pest management programs are being used to provide environmentally friendly control methods for medflies. The goals of the current study were to discover potential new, attractive, kairomones by designing, synthesizing, and testing simplified ethers of thymol and carvacrol along with their ether derivatives in short‐range attraction assays and electroantennogram (EAG) assays with male C. capitata. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first investigation of thymol and carvacrol, and their respective ethers for attractancy to C. capitata, a major agricultural pest worldwide.RESULTSIn short‐range attraction bioassays, parent compounds, thymol and carvacrol, along with their propyl, butyl, benzyl, and octyl ethers captured the most male C. capitata. The attraction patterns changed over time and captures were only significant if they were greater than the positive control tea tree oil (TTO) at 90 min. In EAG assays, thymol benzyl, octyl ethers, and carvacrol benzyl ether evoked significantly greater antennal responses than their parent compounds. The EAG responses did not correlate with short‐range male attraction. The aliphatic side chains of thymol and carvacrol had a small effect on the activity. Future studies will investigate the long‐range attraction of the ethers that elicited large EAG responses.CONCLUSIONThis report provides new information for discovering potential kairomones through synthesis and structure–activity studies for sterile male medflies. Thymol, carvacrol, and several of their ether derivatives displayed improved longevity of attraction compared with TTO (a strong medfly attractant), with significantly higher captures than TTO observed at 90 min in laboratory bioassays. Further chemical synthesis of thymol and carvacrol ethers within this series may lead to the development of ethers that are more attractive or persistent than their parent compounds, thymol and carvacrol. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

show abstract

Effects of Physiological Status and Environmental Factors on the Lure Responses of Three Pest Fruit Fly Species (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Pogue,

Malod,

Weldon

2024

J Chem Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biotic and abiotic factors influence how insects respond to stimuli. This can make it challenging to interpret captures in traps used to monitor pest abundance in management programmes. To address this, the lure response of three pest fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) was evaluated in a semi-field setting with respect to several physiological and environmental factors. Using standardised methods with known fly numbers in field cages, the response to Biolure (food-based lure) was evaluated for Ceratitis capitata, Ceratitis cosyra and Bactrocera dorsalis. Response to the male lures was tested: E.G.O PheroLure for C. capitata and C. cosyra, Trimedlure for C. capitata, and methyl eugenol for B. dorsalis. The physiological variables evaluated were fly age, sex, weight, and total body nutritional composition. The environmental effects of temperature, relative humidity and light intensity were also assessed. Protein-deprived adults responded more strongly to Biolure. The response to Biolure was not sex-specific. Fly age influenced the response of all species to all tested lures. However, this effect was species and lure specific. Temperature was the most influential environmental factor, with response generally increasing with temperature. Lower thresholds for lure response, despite the proximity of responsive flies, range from 12.21 to 22.95 °C depending on the species and lure tested. These results indicate that trapping systems and management activity thresholds must take physiological and environmental variation into account to increase their accuracy.

show abstract

Male lures and the detection of tephritid fruit flies: Assessing the relationships between lure amount and release rate and trap captures of invasive pest species

Cited by 5 publications

References 112 publications

Less is more: Fewer attract-and-kill sites improve the male annihilation technique against Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Less is more: Fewer attract-and-kill sites improve the male annihilation technique against Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of the male medfly, Ceratitis capitata, to thymol and carvacrol ethers

Effects of Physiological Status and Environmental Factors on the Lure Responses of Three Pest Fruit Fly Species (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About