Efficacy of two synthetic food-odor lures for Mexican fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) is determined by trap type.

Sterile mass-reared Mexican fruit flies, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), were trapped in a citrus orchard by using multilure traps and cylindrical sticky traps baited with Advanced Pheromone Technologies Anastrepha fruit fly (AFF) lures or Suterra BioLure two-component (ammonium acetate and putrescine) MFF lures (BioLures). The cylinder trap/AFF lure combination was the best trap over the first 6 wk, the multilure trap/BioLure combination was best during weeks 6-12, and the multilure trap/AFF lure combination was best during the last 6 wk. The multilure trap/BioLure combination was best overall by 36% over the cylinder trap/AFF lure combination, and 57% over the multilure trap/AFF lure combination. Cylinder traps with BioLures were the least effective trap/lure combination throughout the experiment, capturing only half as many flies as cylinder traps with AFF lures. Captures with cylinder traps baited with either lure and multilure traps with BioLures were female biased. For the most part, both lures remained highly attractive and emitted detectable amounts of attractive components under hot field conditions for the duration of the 18-wk experiment. Total emission of ammonia was 4 times greater and 1-pyrroline at least 10 times greater from AFF lures compared with BioLures. Correlations of trap and lure performance with ammonia emission and weather were determined, but no conclusions were possible. Results indicate that BioLures would be the lure of choice in multilure or other McPhail-type traps and AFF lures would be superior with most sticky traps or kill stations that attract flies to outer (not enclosed) surfaces.