Non-target Insects Captured in McPhail Traps Baited with Proteinaceous and Salts in Citrus Crop

Abstract

Non-target Insects Captured in McPhail Traps Baited with Proteinaceous and Salts in Citrus Crop Introduction: Traps baited with food attractants are commonly used for monitoring or mass trapping of fruit flies in many crops. The use of attractive food has a limitation in terms of catching non-target organisms. Attractives used alone or in combination may reduce the capture of non-target insects. Therefore, the mass trapping system in fruit crops can potentially impact negatively on the environment. Materials and Methods: A test was conducted in an orange orchard situated in the municipality of Mogi Mirim, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The following fruit fly lures were disposed into McPhail traps exposed to non-target insects for 55 days: 1) the liquid protein Cera trap®; 2) Cera trap® + Acetone; 3) Cera trap® + Ammonium phosphate dibasic (APD); 4) Cera trap® + Brazilian orange oilphase essence (BOE); 5) Cera trap® + Trimetylamine (TMA); 6) TMA; and 7) APD + BOE. Except Cera trap®, the other attractants were replaced weekly. Each treatment comprises five replications and each plot contained 35 orange trees. We compared effects of attractants and insects using 2-way ANOVA. Results: A large number of Diptera specimens were obtained in all attractants, corresponding to 98.12% of the total capture. The majority of flies belonged to the families Drosophilidae, Muscidae and Calliphoridae. The numbers of Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera and Coleoptera insects were similar for each attractant. Conclusion: The findings of the present work showed no selectivity of Cera trap® even in combination with synthetic lures.