Performance of Various Trap Types for Monitoring Populations of Cherry Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Species

The eastern cherry fruit ßy, Rhagoletis cingulata (Loew), and black cherry fruit ßy, R. fausta (Osten Sacken), are the most important insect pests of cherries Prunus spp. in the eastern and midwestern United States. In 1998, we studied the responses of cherry fruit ßy species using the recommended V-shaped Pherocon AM board. SigniÞcantly more R. cingulata ßies were caught on boards with aqueous solutions of ammonium baits compared with boards that had solid ammonium baitsmixed into theTangle-Trap.Captures ofR. faustaßieswere low in 1998 and theweekly trapping data never exceeded a total of Þve adults. In 1999, several commercial trapswere evaluated including the unbaited, three-dimensional Rebell trap and different types of ammonium baited spheres and boards including a 9-cm-diameter red sphere, a modiÞed version of the Ladd trap (L & S trap), and the Pherocon AM yellow board in the vertical and V-shaped orientations. There were signiÞcantly more R. fausta ßies caught on unbaited Rebell traps compared with any other commercial traps studied. Red sphere treatments (regardless of baiting system) consistently captured signiÞcantly fewer R. fausta ßies than any other treatment evaluated. For R. cingulata, total captures on unbaited Rebell traps were not signiÞcantly different from other commercial traps including the 9-cmdiameter red spheres baited with ammonium acetate mixed into the Tangle-Trap, L & S traps, and the baited Pherocon AM yellow boards deployed in a vertical orientation. The study demonstrated that the unbaited Rebell trap was the most effective and selective device evaluated for monitoring R. fausta and R. cingulata ßies. In addition, red sphere (9-cm-diameter) traps were found ineffective for use in R. fausta monitoring programs.