ARS | Publication request: Nontarget Anthropods Captured in Melon Fly Monitoring Bucket Traps in Area-wide IPM Projects in Kamuela and Kula in the Hawaiian Islands

Submitted to: Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: August 1, 2006
Publication Date: January 15, 2007
Citation: Uchida, G.K., Mcinnis, D.O., Vargas, R.I., Jang, E.B. 2003. Nontarget Anthropods Captured in Melon Fly Monitoring Bucket Traps in Area-wide IPM Projects in Kamuela and Kula in the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings. 36:135-143

Interpretive Summary: The capture of nontarget insects in traps designed to only capture fruit flies can be a significant problem. In dry traps, decaying fruits can attract certain other nontarget insects. In melon fly trapping programs using the male attractant cuelure plus a toxicant (DDVP), specimens of 81 different nontarget taxa were caught in traps placed in the field in area-wide program test sites on two islands - Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. Reducing the number and variety of such undesired captures will be a high priority in any area-wide fruit fly suppression program.

Technical Abstract: Cue-lure + toxicant baited traps were serviced regularly to collect all of the captured nontarget anthropods to determine if monitoring of the Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) negatively affected populations of endemic and purposefully introduced anthropods species. Monitoring captured a total of 70 and 2,371 taxa, or 1.1 and 34.4 individuals per day in the Kamuela (Hawaii island) and Kula (Maui island) areawide integrated pest management programs, respectively. Among the 81 taxa represented, there are 36 adventive, 3 endemic, 3 purposefully introduced; and of these; there are 51 saprophagous, 17 zoophagous, and 8 phytophagous. Six endemic species, Nesopetinus scottianus Sharp, Limonia sp.1?, Ptycta sp. 1?, Ptycta sp. 2? and Ptycta sp. 3?, are considered as immigrants in the Kamuela study site, and Megaselia brunneipalpata Beyer and Megaselia heterodactyla Beyer in the Kula study site. However, the origin of Tricorynus sharpi (Pic) in the Kula study site is unclear.