Attraction and electroantennography responses of the male Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, to natural essential oils and synthetic blends

Field Experiment and long range bioassays were used to understand the difference in attractiveness among various natural essential oils for the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata. Using electroantennography, we have selected various antennally active chemicals and tested their role in the attraction of the male. Choice combinations between various blends and modified essential oils underlined the role of mono and sesquiterpenes in the male attraction. The blends composed with EAD active synthetic chemicals lost their attractiveness when a specific monoterpene was absent, and the attractiveness of ginger root oil and manuka oil were increased when this chemical was added. It is the first time that a study demonstrated the role of this monoterpene in the attraction of the male Mediterranean fruit fly.