Differential Captures of Rhagoletis Pomonella (diptera: Tephritidae) on Four Fluorescent Yellow Rectangle Traps

Four commercial sticky fluorescent yellow rectangle traps differing in shades of yellow, fluorescence, and other features were compared for capturing apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh). Traps were the Alpha Scents Yellow Card (Alpha Scents), Pherocon® AM (Pherocon), Multigard® AM (Multigard), and the StikyTM Strips Insect Trap (Olson, small and large sizes), all baited with the same ammonium bicarbonate lure. L*, a*, and b* color space values indicated that the Alpha Scents trap was whiter (higher L*) and greener (lower a*) than the other traps, less yellow than the Pherocon trap, and more yellow (higher b*) than Multigard and Olson traps. The Pherocon trap had the highest relative fluorescence and was the brightest trap, followed in order by Multigard, Olson, and Alpha Scents traps. Various modified forms of the Alpha Scents trap captured significantly (1.5-6.4 times) more R. pomonella in choice tests than the Pherocon trap. The Alpha Scents trap captured 1.3-3.6 times more R. pomonella in paired choice tests than Pherocon, Multigard, and small and large Olson traps, and the Pherocon trap caught 1.4 times more R. pomonella than the Multigard trap (the Olson traps were not compared with these two traps). A combination of color and fluorescence features in the Alpha Scents trap could have contributed to its superior performance. These results suggest the Alpha Scents trap could be an alternative to the other traps tested for monitoring R. pomonella.