Several members of the genus Rhagoletis are important economic pests of cultivated fruit in the eastern and midwestern United States. Specific examples include the eastern cherry fruit fly, R. cingulata (Loew); the blueberry maggot, R. mendax (Curran); and the apple maggot, R. pomonella (Walsh). Integrated pest mamagement (IPM) programs for fruit flies have utilized visual and olfactory traps as a means for monitoring and controlling these flies. In this study, we compared the effictiveness of several trap and lure combinations as well as the importance of trap height in attracting Rhagoletis flies to their respective host plant. In cherries, we tested three-dimensional RebellTM traps that were either unbaited, or baited with ammonium acetate, cherry concentrate, or a combination of ammonium acetate and cherry concentrate. In a separate study, Pherocon AM yellow boards were used in place of RebellTM traps to compare the above treatments. In highbush blueberries, unbaited Pherocon AM yellow boards were compared with boards that had ammonium/protein bait already mixed into the Tangle-Trap® and boards baited with either ammonium acetate, blueberry essence, or a combination of ammonium acetate and blueberry essence. In addition, the efficacy of unbaited Pherocon AM boards hung at different heights was studied. Results will be discussed in terms of optimizing strategies to monitor Rhagoletis pests within fruit IPM programs.
Species 1: Diptera Tephritidae Rhagoletis cingulata (Eastern Cherry Fruit Fly)
Species 2: Diptera Tephritidae Rhagoletis mendax (Blueberry maggot)
Species 3: Diptera Tephritidae Rhagoletis pomonella (apple maggot)
Keywords: lures, trap height
Back to Student Competition Display Presentations, Subsection Cd. Behavior and Ecology
Back to Student Competition Poster
Back to The 2002 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition