To catch a fly: landing and capture of ceratitis capitata in a Jackson trap with and without an insecticide

Authors: Manoukis, Nicholas

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2016
Publication Date: 2/26/2016
Citation: Manoukis, N. 2016. To catch a fly: landing and capture of ceratitis capitata in a Jackson trap with and without an insecticide. PLoS One. 11(2):e0149869. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Interpretive Summary: The behavior of the Mediterranean fruit fly, an important invasive pest, on traps used for monitoring and detection is examined via computer vision and counting numbers caught in and around traps. Of particular interest was the effect of adding an insecticide to the trap. Results showed no difference in the trap capture with and without insecticide, but more dead flies were observed around traps with insecticide. Image analysis showed that the internal surfaces of the trap (Jackson) were the one most often associated with fly sightings, compared with the top of bottom surfaces.

Technical Abstract: Attractant-based traps are a cornerstone of detection, delimitation and eradication programs for tephritid fruit flies and other pests. The ideal trap and lure combination has high attraction (it brings pest tephritids to the trap from a distance) and high capture efficiency (it has a high probability of capturing the fly once it arrives at the trap). We examined the effect of an insecticide (DDVP) in combination with a pheromone lure (trimedlure) on capture of Ceratitis capitata using 1) digital images of surfaces of a Jackson trap analyzed via computer vision, and 2) counts of the number of flies caught in the trap and in the area under the trap. Our results indicate no significant difference in trap capture with or without insecticide. However, significantly more dead flies were found around the trap with insecticide, suggesting a possible decrease in trap efficiency due to mortality before insects enter the trap. We also found that the majority of fly sightings, 71% of the total, occurred on the inside panels of the lure-only traps, suggesting that increased efficiency of the Jackson trap may be obtained by adding a contact insecticide to those surfaces.