Capture of Melon Flies and Oriental Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Traps Baited with Torula Yeast-Borax or CeraTrap in Hawaii

Abstract

Summary Food baits are a key component in trapping programs to detect infestations of pest species of tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). Traditionally, a torula yeast-borax slurry has been used most frequently, but the recently developed food bait CeraTrap, consisting of hydrolyzed animal protein, has proven more attractive to certain tephritids. This study compared field captures of melon flies, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), and oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), in traps baited with torula yeast-borax or CeraTrap in an agricultural setting in Hawaii. Data show that melon flies were captured in significantly greater numbers in traps baited with torula yeast-borax than CeraTrap, while no difference in captures was noted for the oriental fruit fly between traps baited with the 2 food types. Sumario Los cebos alimenticios son un componente clave en los programas de captura para detectar infestaciones de especies de moscas de la fruta tefritidas (Diptera: Tephritidae). Tradicionalmente, se ha utilizado con mayor frecuencia una suspension de torula levadura-borax, pero el cebo alimenticio recientemente desarrollado CeraTrap, que consiste en proteina animal hidrolizada, ha demostrado ser mas atractivo para ciertos tefritidos. Este estudio comparo capturas de campo de la mosca de melon, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) y la mosca de la fruta oriental, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), en trampas cebadas con torula levadura-borax o CeraTrap en un entorno agricola en Hawaii. Los datos muestran que las moscas de melon fueron capturadas en numeros significativamente mayores en trampas cebadas con torula levaduraborax que CeraTrap, mientras que no se observaron diferencias en las capturas para la mosca de la fruta oriental entre las trampas cebadas con los 2 tipos de alimentos. View this article in BioOne