Synthetic food baits and the capture of Mediterranean and Oriental fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The Tephritidae (Diptera) includes invasive pests that threaten production and trade of crops and vegetables. Many countries operate trapping programs to detect incipient infestations. Food-based lures are an important component of these programs as they are neither species not sex-specific. An aqueous solution of torula yeast plus borax (TYB) has been widely used, but this bait has short field longevity and requires replacement every 1-2 weeks. A number of synthetic food-based lures have been developed, which may have similar attractiveness as TYB but much longer effectiveness. This study compared captures of wild Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)) and Oriental fruit flies (Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)) among traps baited with TYB solution or four different food-based synthetic lures, all of which included ammonium acetate, putrescine, and trimethylamine. These synthetic baits included: (1) Scentry 3C cones, (2) Susbin 3C sachets, (3) Better World 1+1+1 Vial-Lures, and (4) Better World 3-in-1 Vial Lures. MultiLure traps were deployed in a coffee field on central Oahu, and trapping was conducted on a biweekly basis when the synthetic lures were weathered 0 (fresh) – 12 weeks. TYB was prepared fresh for each sampling period and served as the standard. For C. capitata, TYB-baited traps had higher captures than any other bait, and traps with 3C cones had fewer captures than any other bait. For B. dorsalis, TYB-baited traps had higher captures than any other bait, and all other baits were generally equivalent. Results are compared with similar studies conducted concurrently in Florida and Guatemala.<