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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 #233221
Title: Attraction and Mortality of Oriental Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) to SPLAT-MAT- Methyl Eugenol with Spinosad

Author
item Vargas, Roger
item PINERO, JAIME - UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
item MAU, RONALD - UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
item STARK, JOHN - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV.
item HERTLEIN, MARK - DOW AGROSCIENCES
item MAFRA-NETO, AGENOR - ISCA TECHNOLOGIES
item COLER, REGINALD - ISCA TECHNOLOGIES
item GETCHELL, ANNA - ISCA TECHNOLOGIES

Submitted to: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/28/2008
Publication Date: 5/10/2009
Citation: Vargas, R.I., Pinero, J.C., Mau, R.F., Stark, J.D., Hertlein, M., Mafra-Neto, A., Coler, R., Getchell, A. 2009. Attraction and Mortality of Oriental Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) to SPLAT-MAT- Methyl Eugenol with Spinosad. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 131:286-293

Interpretive Summary: Spinosad is a biopesticide that has proven to be more environmentally friendly than organophosphate pesticides currently used for oriental fruit fly control programs on the U.S. mainland. Public opposition to treatments with the insecticide naled has grown over the last 10 years in both California and Florida. The SPLAT-MAT-ME sprayable formulation containing spinosad was compared to a conventional formulation containing the pesticide naled for oriental fruit fly eradication in California. Weathering studies indicated that the spinosad formulation compared favorably to or was better than the standard formulation. Our current studies indicate that the SPLAT-MAT-ME sprayable "attract and kill" dispenser containing spinosad is more convenient and safer to handle than current liquid insecticide formulations used for area-wide eradication of oriental fruit fly in California.

Technical Abstract: Studies were conducted in Hawaii to quantify attraction and feeding responses resulting in mortality of male oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), to SPLAT-MAT-methyl eugenol (ME) with spinosad in comparison with Min-U-Gel-ME with naled (Dibrom). Our approach involved a novel behavioral methodology for evaluation of slow acting reduced risk insecticides. ME treatments were weathered for 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks in California, USA, and shipped to Hawaii for bioassays. In field tests involving bucket traps to attract and capture wild males, and in attraction/toxicity studies conducted in 1 m3 cages using released males of controlled ages, SPLAT-MAT-ME with spinosad performed similarly to or outperformed the standard formulation of Min-U-Gel-ME with naled for material aged for up to 8 weeks. In laboratory feeding tests in which individual males were exposed for 5 min to the different ME treatments, mortality induced by SPLAT-MAT-ME with spinosad recorded at 24 h did not differ from that caused by Min-U-Gel- ME with naled at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Spinosad has low contact toxicity, and when mixed with SPLAT offers a reduced risk alternative for control of B. dorsalis, without many of the negative effects to humans and nontargets of broad spectrum contact poisons such as naled. SPLAT-MAT-ME in combination with GF-120 Fruit Fly Bait, both with spinosad, offers potential for control of both males and females, respectively, in an areawide IPM system without the need for conventional organophosphates