Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #320334
Title: Mark-release-recapture experiments on the effectiveness of Methyl Eugenol-Spinosad male annihilation technique against an invading population of Bactrocera dorsalis

Author
item Jang, Eric
item DOWELL, ROBERT - California Department Of Food And Agriculture
item Manoukis, Nicholas

Submitted to: Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/12/2017
Publication Date: 10/16/2017
Citation: Jang, E.B., Dowell, R.V., Manoukis, N. 2017. Mark-release-recapture experiments on the effectiveness of Methyl Eugenol-Spinosad male annihilation technique against an invading population of Bactrocera dorsalis. Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings. 49:37-45.

Interpretive Summary: Bactrocera dorsalis is a pest of major concern in fruit-growing areas where it is not established. Control and eradication often employs male annihilation technique, using methyl eugenol as an attractant (MAT-ME). We conduced a small-scale mark-release-recapture study comparing two densities of MAT-ME (“high”=225 spots per km2; “low”=100 spots per km2) with a control by counting males recaptured in sentinel traps baited with ME 40 m from the release point. We hypothesized that recaptures would be reduced under the two MAT treatments by equivalent amounts compared with the control, reflecting male mortality from the treatments. We found a large degree of variation in trap recaptures between replicates and treatments, and no significant difference between recaptures under the high treatment and control. Recaptures were significantly lower under the low treatment, indicating greater mortality compared with control and high. We propose the “MAT-ME saturation hypothesis” to explain this result: increasing the number of stations per square mile increases mortality of receptive males until too many stations create a high enough background of ME that the males don’t effectively follow a gradient to the source. Our findings highlight that further research into the effect of increasing MAT-ME spot density on male mortality is needed.

Technical Abstract: This paper describes the results of experiments compare two numbers of lure/insecticide spots per unit area upon detection of invading fruit flies. If the number of spots could be reduced with the same killing ability, then materials, labor, and time could be spared without compromising safety. Surprisingly, the results suggest that a lower number of spots per unit area was more effective than the higher number at killing flies. This result should be considered preliminary until further detailed investigation can be conducted.