Weathering and Efficacy of Trimedlure Dispensers for Attraction of Mediterranean Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The chemicals trimedlure and Capilure, loaded on cotton wicks, and trimedlure formulated in controlled-release dispensers, were compared as attractants for collection of Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), in Jackson traps. Dispensers were weathered for varying periods of time in four locations in California, and were bioassayed under field conditions in Hawaii. Standard 2.0-ml loads of trimedlure on cotton wicks were generally more efficacious than 0.6- to 4.0-ml loads in other dispensers. Although the trimedlure cotton wicks lasted up to four weeks under cool, spring weather conditions, acceptable longevity was only 2 weeks when weathered during the hotter summer months. Based on bioassay results, there were no significant differences in weathering rates of trimedlure on cotton wicks from the different locations in California in 1982. Capilure, Biolure cups, or Hereon laminates did not provide adequate substitutes to the standard cotton dispenser in this series of tests.