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

Authors: VAZQUEZ, AIME - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Cloonan, Kevin; Rohde, Barukh; Gill, Micah; MOSSER, LISA - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); CRANE, JONATHAN - University Of Florida; CARRILLO, DANIEL - University Of Florida; Kendra, Paul

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/31/2022
Publication Date: 6/29/2022
Citation: Vázquez, A., K. R. Cloonan, B. B. Rhode, M. A. Gill, L. K. Mosser, J. H. Crane, D. Carrillo, and P. E. Kendra. 2022. Attraction and longevity of 2- and 3-component food cone lures for the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 115(4): 1231-1239.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac102

Interpretive Summary: The Caribbean fruit fly is a quarantine pest of citrus and a production pest of guava and other specialty fruits in Florida. Regulatory agencies currently monitor adult flies using a solid matrix cone-shaped lure containing several food-based attractants, including ammonium acetate (AA), putrescine (Pt), and trimethylamine (TMA). However, rigorous tests have not been conducted in Florida to determine which of these food odors result in optimal attraction of Caribbean fruit fly. Therefore, researchers from the USDA-ARS (Miami, FL) and the University of Florida (Homestead) conducted field research to test the efficacy and longevity of 2C (AA + Pt) and 3C (AA + Pt + TMA) cone lures in groves of three preferred hosts -- guava, loquat, and Surinam cherry. Laboratory tests were also conducted to quantify emissions of attractant chemicals from lures field-aged for 8 weeks. All tests indicated that 2C lures were more attractive to male and female flies than the 3C lures, apparently due to a repellent effect of TMA. In addition, 2C lures remained attractive for 6-8 weeks, whereas 3C lures lost efficacy after 5-6 weeks. This information will benefit regulatory agencies in designing appropriate monitoring programs for the Caribbean fruit fly in Florida.

Technical Abstract: 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 for timely initiation of control measures. As part of a continued effort to identify the most attractive lure 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. Concurrent with field trials, additional lures were field-aged and periodically brought into the laboratory to quantify residual chemical contents. In all three field tests, the torula yeast-borax mixture captured the highest mean number of A. suspensa, and the commercial 2C lures captured more flies than the 3C lures. Torula yeast-borax also captured the highest number of non-target Diptera. Captures with all three treatments were significantly biased toward females. Attractiveness of the 2C lure began to drop after 6-8 weeks, and the 3C lure after 5-6 weeks. Chemical analysis indicated that emissions of attractive chemicals from 2C and 3C lures decreased exponentially over time.