Evaluation of Solid Lure Plugs and Insecticide Dispensers on Capturing Dacine Fruit Flies and Non-target Insects

Abstract

The present study investigated the efficacy of solid male lures viz., cuelure (C-L), methyl eugenol (ME) and tri-med lure (TML) formulated with insecticide for the capture of Tephritid fruit flies in three different green areas of Bangladesh. We also evaluated non-target attraction effects to traps baited with these male lures. Traps were placed at nine locations in each of three experimental fields of Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh during May-September, 2015. The experimental areas were i. Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) colony, ii. AERE office campus, and iii. Jahangirnagar University (JU) campus, comprising agricultural fields, backyard gardens and mixed plantation. The flies were collected at weekly interval over 18 weeks. Total capture of Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coq.), Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Zeugodacus tau (Walker), and Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) were determined. The number of non-target insects attracted to different lure baited traps was also recorded. The prevalence of Dacine fruit flies was significantly higher at the JU campus comprising 98.41% B. dorsalis (538.05±62.28 fly/trap/week (FTW)) captured by ME. The comparatively higher number of Z. cucurbitae, and Z. tau trapped by C-L from AERE office campus, and JU campus, respectively. No Bactrocera spp. was attracted to the TML. Saprophagous non-targets mostly Diptera, Drosophilla, Milichiidae, Hymenoptea (black ants) were abundant in traps baited with C-L and ME. It was revealed that the response to lures was species-specific. Tested solid lures and DDVP strips did not exert any detrimental effects on non-target beneficial insects and were found effective for mass-trapping of Dacine fruit flies.