Pheromones, Male Lures, and Trapping of Tephritid Fruit Flies

Both sex pheromones and male lures appear to play an important role in the mating systems of many species of economically important tephritid species. Typically, stationary males emit pheromone attractive to searching females, and recent evidence indicates that naturally occurring male lures may function as precursors in pheromone synthesis. Here, we review (i) the basic biology of sex pheromones and the importance of naturally occurring male lures as pheromone components or precursors and (ii) the use of sex pheromones and male lures as trap baits, primarily in fruit fly detection programs, for the major genera of Anastrepha, Bactrocera, Ceratitis, Dacus, Rhagoletis, and Toxotrypana. Relatively few studies have examined the effectiveness of pheromone-based trapping, and most of these have involved only three species, the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), and the Caribbean fruit fly, A. suspensa (Loew). In general, the results have been inconsistent, with traps baited with live males or male pheromone extracts or components attracting more females than blanks or food-baited traps in some studies but not in others. This inconsistency, along with the chemical complexity of pheromones and the K.H. Tan (*) Tan Hak Heng, 20, Jalan Tan Jit Seng, 11200 Tanjong Bungah, Penang, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] R. Nishida Graduate School of Agriculture, Laboratory of Chemical Ecology, Pesticide Research Institute, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan e-mail: [email protected] E.B. Jang USDA-ARS, U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, 64 Nowelo Street, Hilo, HI 96720, USA e-mail: [email protected] T.E. Shelly USDA-APHIS, 41-650 Ahiki Street, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA e-mail: [email protected] T. Shelly et al. (eds.), Trapping and the Detection, Control, and Regulation of Tephritid Fruit Flies, DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9193-9_2, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 15 multimodal nature of sexual communication (where olfaction is but one of several sensory channels used in male signaling and courtship), has limited research on the development of pheromone baits. Male lures, on the other hand, have proven incredibly useful and consistently effective trap baits. The major male lures – methyl eugenol, cue-lure/raspberry ketone, and trimedlure – are discussed as are possible replacements/modifications, such as fluorinated analogues of methyl eugenol, raspberry ketone formate, zingerone, ceralure, and enriched ginger root oil. In addition, we discuss various factors influencing the efficacy of male lures, including fly age, prior lure ingestion, selection for non-responsiveness, interspecific differences in responsiveness, and the use of liquid versus solid dispensers.