Dynamics of pH modification of an acidic protein bait used for tropical fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Attraction and Longevity of 2- and 3-Component Food Cone Lures for the Caribbean Fruit Fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a quarantine pest of Citrus spp. and a production pest of guava and other specialty fruits in Florida. Effective monitoring lures and traps are needed for early pest detection and timely initiation of control measures. As part of a continued effort to identify attractive synthetic lures for the Caribbean fruit fly, we conducted field tests in Homestead, Florida to compare the efficacy and longevity of commercial 2- and 3-component cone lures (2C [ammonium acetate and putrescine], 3C [ammonium acetate, putrescine, and trimethylamine]), the current standards used by regulatory agencies, versus the traditional liquid protein bait consisting of hydrolyzed torula yeast and borax as a positive control. Additional lures were also field-aged and periodically brought into the laboratory to quantify residual chemical contents. Traps baited with the torula yeast-borax mixture captured the highest mean number of A. suspensa, and traps baited with the commercial 2C lures captured more flies than the 3C lures. Traps baited with torula yeast-borax also captured the highest number of nontarget Diptera. Captures with all three treatments were significantly biased toward females. Attractiveness of the 2C lure began to drop after 6-8 wk, and the 3C lure after 5-6 wk. Overall, these data suggest that the 2C cone lure is more attractive to A. suspensa than the 3C cone lure under field conditions in south Florida, and that the 2C lures are attractive for up to 8 wk.

Use of Preservatives in Vegetable Protein-Based Food Attractants for Monitoring Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Peach Orchards

Studies have demonstrated that the addition of preservatives mixed with food attractants have provided a more expressive attractiveness for fruit fly adults. The objective of the study was to evaluate the capture of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) adults when the addition of borax and/or benzalkonium chloride preservative in BioAnastrepha^TM and Isca Samaritá Tradicional^TM food attractants compared to CeraTrap^TM (control, no preservatives added) in peach orchards. As well as, verifying the effect over non-target insects. BioAnastrepha^TM, Isca Samaritá Tradicional^TM and CeraTrap^TM attractants enabled the capture of A. fraterculus adults when used by themselves in McPhail traps. However, by adding borax and benzalkonium chloride, BioAnastrepha^TM and Isca Samaritá Tradicional^TM food attractants significantly increased the number of adults captured. Additionally, the number of A. fraterculus adults captured by BioAnastrepha^TM attractant + borax was similar to CeraTrap^TM attractant over time. Regarding non-target insects, the highest percentages of subjects captured belong to the Coleoptera (4.4 to 11%) and Diptera orders (24.1 to 34.6%) (Drosophilidae family). Nevertheless, insects from the Hymenoptera order [(Formicidae (0.14 to 0.96%), Vespidae (0.02 to 0.3%), and Apidae (0.04 to 0.9%)] families. Neuroptera (0.02 to 0.98%) and Lepidoptera (0.09 to 0.7%) were also captured, although those amounted to less than 1% of the A. fraterculus total. Adding borax and benzalkonium chloride to BioAnastrepha^TM and Isca Samaritá Tradicional^TM food attractants potentialize the effect of A. fraterculus capture in monitoring traps. Also, adding preservatives made attractants more durable, consequently, the need to replace attractants was not as frequent.

Atratividade de proteína hidrolisada de milho em mistura com bórax sobre moscas-das-frutas (Diptera: Tephritidae) em gaiolões de campo

Várias espécies de moscas-das-frutas (Diptera: Tephritidae) são capturadas em armadilhas contendo soluções aquosas preparadas com atrativos alimentares proteicos. Milhocina(r) é um produto hidrolisado de milho que apresenta um pH ácido. A adição de bórax pode aumentar o pH e melhorar a atratividade a tefritídeos adultos. Esta pesquisa objetivou avaliar a atratividade sob diferentes tempos de exposição de Milhocina(r) diluída a 5% (v/v) em mistura com 4, 7 e 10% de bórax, comparando-a com a proteína comercial padrão Bio Anastrepha a 3% (v/v). Vinte casais de Ceratitis capitata com 2 a 3 dias de idade e 20 casais de Anastrepha fraterculus com 1 a 3 dias foram liberados no interior dos gaiolões de 8,0 m3, no início de cada período de exposição (0 - 2, 2 - 4, 4 - 7 e 7 - 10 dias). No centro superior de cada gaiolão foi pendurada uma armadilha McPhail plástica transparente contendo 400 mL de solução atrativa. Ao final de cada período de exposição, os adultos capturados foram retirados, contados e sexados. Maior quantidade de adultos de C. capitatafoi capturada no atrativo padrão Bio Anastrepha. Esse produto capturou mais fêmeas e machos de A. fraterculusdo que os demais atrativos. Houve maiores capturas de machos e de fêmeas + machos de C. capitatado que de A. fraterculusnos tratamentos com Milhocina(r). Maiores capturas de fêmeas dos tefritídeos testados foram obtidas por Milhocina(r) + bórax 4% e por Bio Anastrepha até 7 dias de exposição dos atrativos. Em geral, no período de 2 - 4 dias de exposição houve um aumento da atratividade das soluções proteicas para fêmeas e machos de C. capitatae A. fraterculus.

Captures of pest fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and nontarget insects in BioLure and torula yeast traps in Hawaii

MultiLure traps were deployed in a Hawaiian orchard to compare the attraction of economically important fruit flies and nontarget insects to the three-component BioLure and torula yeast food lures. Either water or a 20% propylene glycol solution was used to dissolve the torula yeast or as capture fluid in BioLure traps. Torula yeast in water was more attractive than BioLure for male and female Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) and Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and as attractive for Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and the addition of propylene glycol significantly inhibited the attractiveness of torula yeast. The known synergistic effect of propylene glycol with BioLure, resulting in increased captures of Anastrepha flies, was not observed with Bactrocera. Nontarget Drosophilidae, Neriidae, Phoridae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, and Muscidae were more strongly attracted to BioLure, and both lures collected Chloropidae equally. As with fruit flies, propylene glycol in torula yeast significantly decreased nontarget captures. The results therefore suggest that torula yeast in water is a more effective attractant than BioLure for pest Bactrocera while minimizing nontarget captures.