Easy-to-Handle Sticky Trap for Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Heath et al. (1996, 1997) described a cylindrical sticky trap for tephritid fruit flies constructed with fruit fly adhesive paper (FFAP) (Atlantic Paste and Glue Co., Inc., Brooklyn, NY) which has an extremely tacky but non-messy adhesive. Capture rates with this trap were twice those of McPhail traps baited with the same lure. Unfortunately, the traps were difficult for users because they stick fast to almost everything they contact, including small birds in some field tests. In this work we describe a sticky trap made with the same paper but which avoids many of these problems. Experimental traps were constructed from fluorescent light green (E.I.C.MWG 17089) or yellow (fluorescent chartreuse, E.I.C.MWY 16823) FFAP. Green and yellow were chosen because they were the most attractive colors in previous experiments with many species of Tephritidae including the Mexican fruit fly (Katsoyannos 1989; Robacker et al. 1990). Except for the controls, all traps had black plastic mesh (Co-Polymer Gutter Guard, Amerimax Home Products, Lancaster, PA) stapled over the sticky surfaces. The FFAP was cut into 23 x 14 cm rectangles to equal the size of the Pherocon AM trap (Trece, Inc., Salinas, CA) that was used as the standard trap for this work. Plastic mesh was also cut into 23 x 14 cm rectangles. Mesh size (distance between plastic strands) initially was 0.7 x 0.7 cm. Mesh size was cut to 1.5 x 1.5 or 2.2 x 2.2 cm to test the effect of mesh size on trap efficacy. Thickness of the plastic strands was approximately 1.11.4 mm. Two FFAP rectangles placed back to back with sticky surfaces outward, each with a mesh rectangle on its sticky surface, were stapled together as a unit (Fig. 1). Trap lures were AMPu vials (2 ml) containing an agar mixture of ammonium carbonate, methylamine HCl, and putrescine, described previously (Robacker 1995). Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens Loew) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the trap. Flies were from a laboratory culture that originated in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in 1987. Flies were irradiated with 70-92 Grays (Cobalt 60) before adult eclosion. Mixed-sex groups of 200 flies were kept in 473 ml cardboard cartons with sugar and water until released in test plots 3 to 8 days after eclosion. Trap tests were conducted in one row of Ruby Red Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi MacFadyen) and -~~~~~~~~~~~ l l