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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #139451
Title: EFFICACY OF THE "MITCHELL STATION", A NEW BAIT-STATION FOR THE CONTROL OF THE CARIBBEAN FRUIT FLY, ANASTREPHA SUSPENSA (LOEW) (DIPTERA:TEPHRITIDAE)

Author
item HOLLER, TIM - USDA-APHIS-PPQ GAINESVILE
item Gillett, Jennifer
item Sivinski, John
item MOSES, AMY - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item MITCHELL, EVERETT - USDA, ARS, CMAVE

Submitted to: Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2006
Publication Date: 12/31/2006
Citation: Holler, T., Gillett, J.L., Sivinski, J.M., Moses, A., Mitchell, E. 2006. EFFICACY OF THE "MITCHELL STATION", A NEW BAIT-STATION FOR THE CONTROL OF THE CARIBBEAN FRUIT FLY, ANASTREPHA SUSPENSA (LOEW) (DIPTERA:TEPHRITIDAE). Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings. 38:111-118.

Interpretive Summary: Fruit fly control programs typically employ mixtures of insecticides and protein baits to first attract and then kill the pests. These are usually spread as droplets, but this draws criticism from urban populations being sprayed and from environmentalists concerned that beneficial insects might contact the poisoned drops. In order to prevent exposing people and nontarget insects to insecticides, scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology have developed a new "baitstation". Relatively few of the small plastic structures could be deployed to replace the controversial baitsprays. In field cage tests these "attract and kill" devices were effective against the Caribbean fruit fly, a common pest of citrus and other fruits. Further experiments are planned to determine how the baitstations might be best used in both agricultural and populated areas.

Technical Abstract: Insecticide baitsprays for the control of tephritid fruit flies are often applied to nonagricultural areas. As a result urban populations and environmentalists have expressed concerns for both human health and the conservation of nontarget organisms. One alternative to baitsprays is the deployment of baitstaions which attract pests to a limited number of sites and there expose them to the toxicant. The late Dr. Everett Mitchell designed such an "attract and kill" device and considered the possibility of its use in fruit fly suppression / eradication programs. The ability of this "Mitchell Station" (=MS), with or without the addition of an ammonium acetate and putrescine attractant, to kill Caribbean fruit flies (Anastrepha suspensa [Loew]) was compared in field cages to a commercially available baitstation. The MS station, with and without the attractant, was as effective as the commercially available alternative. Because the MS uses a contact insecticide, permethrin, as a toxicant its exposure to nontarget organisms should be minimized. The green color chosen for the MS during the tests was unusually attractive to Caribbean fruit flies, but was not particularly attractive to a fruit fly natural enemy, the braconid parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead).