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["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

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From: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Reply-To: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 07:27:44 -0400
To: ARS News subscriber <lonrom@hevanet.com>
Subject: Attractive Lure Beckons Anastrepha Fruit Flies

STORY LEAD:
Attractive Lure Beckons Anastrepha Fruit Flies
___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Alfredo Flores, (301) 504-1627, aflores@ars.usda.gov
August 22, 2003
___________________________________________

An Agricultural Research Service scientist and cooperators are
developing a new lure that could increase the capture of Anastrepha
fruit flies that attack a variety of citrus and other crops in North and
South America.

The lure was developed jointly by researchers at ARS' Kika de la Garza
Subtropical Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco, Texas, and at IPM
Tech Inc. of Portland, Ore. It has surpassed expectations, both for
attractiveness and longevity in the field. When used on sticky,
yellow-panel traps in grapefruit orchards in South Texas, IPM Tech lures
were five times as effective as two-component lures in controlling
Mexican fruit flies (A. ludens).

Anastrepha fruit fly species are a serious pest in many regions from
northern South America to northern Mexico, penetrating into southern
Texas. California, Arizona and Florida are especially vulnerable. The
flies attack a variety of citrus, including grapefruit and oranges, as
well as pears, peaches and apples. This new synthetic lure may be a
promising basis for mass trapping or use at bait stations or kill
stations to control Anastrepha species.

When tested on sticky bottle traps, the IPM Tech lures were 20 times as
effective as standard ammonium phosphate McPhail traps for capturing
South American fruit flies (A. fraterculus). In those tests, they
remained effective for up to 16 weeks.

ARS entomologist David C. Robacker of the Crop Quality and Fruit
Insects Research Unit in Weslaco works with a team of researchers
located at IPM Tech; the Topara Fruit Tree Nursery in Topara Valley,
Peru; Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador; the Institute of Ecology in
Xalapa, Mexico; and several universities in the United States.

IPM Tech's lure shows great promise as a tool for detecting and
monitoring Anastrepha species. Future research will determine if the
lure will work in wet traps, in other geographical areas and for other
species of fruit flies.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's primary scientific research
agency.
___________________________________________

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