Trapping tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in citrus groves of Fujian Province of China

Abstract

Abstract Certain tephritid fruit flies, such as the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis , the Chinese citrus fly, B. minax and the Japanese orange fly, B. tsuneonis (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae), are destructive citrus pests in China. A two-year trapping study was conducted in pomelo, Citrus maxima, groves in Fujian Province of China. The objectives of this study were to investigate the species, the abundance of tephritid fruit flies in the orchards, as well as the efficacy of the selected lure traps to these flies. Four lure traps or devices, i.e. methyl eugenol + Steiner trap (ST), cuelure + ST, ammonium acetate + putrescine + ST, and sticky spheres, were deployed from June to November 2017 and April to October 2018. Six economically significant Dacini pests were trapped during the period. These flies are B. dorsalis, the melon fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae, the pumpkin fruit fly, Z. tau, the Malaysian fruit fly, B. latifrons, and other two species - B. rubigina and Z. scutellatus. B. dorsalis was the most abundant, accounting for more than 50% of the capture, followed by Z. cucurbitae. The remaining four species accounted for less than 2% of the total capture. B. minax and B. tsuneonis, two destructive citrus-damaging tephritid fruit flies in China, were not found during the trapping period. Methyl eugenol trapped the highest number of fruit flies, followed by cuelure.