Response of fruit flies, Bactrocera spp. to different attractants in mid-hill Himalayas
Sheikh Khursheed and Desh Raj
The experiments were conducted at the Entomological Experimental Farm, CSK HP Agricultural University, Palampur and farmer’s field Bara (Hamirpur) to evaluate the response of fruit flies to different pheromones. Seven species of fruit flies were captured irrespective of pheromone traps. The pheromones were species specific in terms of attracting different fruit fly species. Four species viz., B. tau (Walker), B. cucurbitae (Coquillett), B. scutellaris (Bizzi) and B. nigrofemoralis (White & Tsuruta) responded significantly to cuelure traps and poorly to baculure traps. Two species viz., B. zonata (Saunders) and B. dorsalis (Hendel) attracted significantly to methyl eugenol followed by makshikari traps. However, unidentified species (B. species) responded only to cuelure traps. The early detection and mass trapping with the use of lures can prove to be one of the options for management of this devastating pest.
Sheikh Khursheed, Desh Raj. Response of fruit flies, Bactrocera spp. to different attractants in mid-hill Himalayas. J Entomol Zool Stud 2019;7(1):295-298.