Recent developments and applications of bait stations for integrated pest management of tephritid fruit flies

Authors: PIÑERO, JAMIE - Lincoln University Of Missouri; Epsky, Nancy

Submitted to: Trapping Tephritid Fruit Flies: Lures, Area-Wide Programs, and Trade Implications
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/26/2014
Publication Date: 10/1/2014
Citation: Piñero, J.C., Epsky, N.D. 2014. Recent developments and applications of bait stations for integrated pest management of tephritid fruit flies. In: Shelly, T.E., Epsky, N., Jang, E.B., Reyes-Flores, J., Vargas, R.I., editors. Trapping and Detection, Control, and Regulation of Tephritid Fruit Flies: Lures, Area-Wide Programs, and Trade Implications. 2104 edition. New York, New York: Springer. p. 457-492

Interpretive Summary: Tephritid fruit flies pose a serious threat to fruit and vegetable production worldwide, and pesticide bait sprays have used historically for population suppression and eradication. Bait stations, defined as discrete containers of attractants and toxins that target specific pests, are being developed as alternatives to pesticide bait sprays. The development of new and the optimization of current bait station designs for improved fruit fly control are currently priority research areas in several regions of the world. Therefore, scientists at SHRS in collaboration with scientists at Lincoln University of Missouri provide the first comprehensive review on bait stations for effective fruit fly control. This will be published as a chapter in a book ‘Trapping Tephritid Fruit Flies: Lures, Area-Wide Programs, and Trade Implications.’ This book will provide a comprehensive overview of fruit fly trapping, and will include discussions of traps and lures; fruit fly ecology and detection; use of traps and lures for fruit fly population control; and the role of trapping in detection and trade. This information will be used by researchers, State and Federal Regulatory agencies, and fruit and vegetable growers.

Technical Abstract: The attract-and-kill approach involves the behavioral manipulation of pest insects through the integration of long-distance olfactory/visual stimuli to attract a particular pest and a killing agent and/or a collection device. Bait stations, an element of an attract-and-kill system, can be defined as “discrete containers of attractants and toxins, which are targeted at specific pests.” The development of new and the optimization of current bait station designs for improved fruit fly control are currently priority research areas in several regions of the world. This chapter provides the first comprehensive review on bait stations for effective fruit fly control. It discusses types of bait stations and components, as well as the numerous advantages they provide. For instance, from an environmental perspective, with use of bait stations there is minimal or no contact between pesticides and (1) the commodity plus there is no release of insecticide into the environment, (2) beneficial arthropods, and (3) workers/ applicators. Specific examples of bait stations that target males and females of various fruit flies and from various regions of the world are presented, thus providing a global perspective. The needs to consider cost/benefit analyses for development and evaluation of bait stations to increase the likelihood of adoption by growers are highlighted as well.