Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Miami, Florida » Subtropical Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #395236
Research Project: Mitigation of Invasive Pest Threats to U.S. Subtropical Agriculture

Location: Subtropical Horticulture Research

Title: Identification of Female Attractants for Improved Monitoring of Oviposition-Impending Bactrocera Dorsalis

Author
item Cha, Dong
item ROH, GWANG-HYUN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Kendra, Paul

Submitted to: International Society of Chemical Ecology Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2022
Publication Date: 8/8/2022
Citation: Cha, D. H., G.-H. Roh, and P. E. Kendra. 2022. Identification of female attractants for improved monitoring of oviposition-impending Bactrocera dorsalis. Joint Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology and the Asia-Pacific Association of Chemical Ecology. (Virtual presentation). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 8-12 Aug 2022.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: There is a clear need for a new and more potent attractant for surveillance of female Bactrocera dorsalis (oriental fruit fly, OFF). Worldwide, OFF is one of the most destructive invasive pests of fruit that can become a serious trade-barrier once established. Current OFF surveillance programs in the US rely on a large number of traps (10,000 traps/yr in CA) baited with methyl eugenol and liquid protein bait (torula yeast, TY). Although methyl eugenol is a highly potent attractant, it only attracts males and cannot monitor OFF females. TY-baited traps can attract both sexes and thus have been used for detection of female OFF. However, TY is not strong enough to meet program needs as a standard female attractant; furthermore, the attractiveness of TY changes with time, TY traps are difficult to maintain, and TY attracts many non-target insects. The lack of suitable sensitivity of TY traps for OFF females appears to be related to its inability to attract females ready for oviposition. In our recent study using cohorts of 14~16 day old mated OFF females, some preferred traps baited with TY while some preferred traps baited with host fruit. Interestingly, the mated females that preferred host fruit odor had 2X more mature eggs in their ovaries and laid 2X more eggs than mated females that preferred TY odor, suggesting great potential for using host fruit odor-based lures to monitor “oviposition-ready” mated females and improve the efficacy of OFF detection. In this talk we will discuss (a) the identification of a 16-component chemical lure that is as attractive to female OFF as a preferred host fruit (guava) and more effective than TY in catching oviposition-impending females in the field, and (b) our plans for further optimization of this lure.