A four-component attractant for the mexican fruit fly,Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae), from host fruit.

Sixteen chemicals found in fermented chapote fruit odor were evaluated as attractants for hungry adult Mexican fruit flies. Ethyl octanoate, ethyl benzoate, terpinyl acetate, ethyl salicylate, and (-)-α-copaene proved slightly attractive. Several of the chemicals also were tested for their ability to increase the attractiveness of the previously developed chapote-derived attractant (CEH) consisting of 1,8-cineole, ethyl hexanoate, and hexanol. Combinations containing CEH with ethyl octanoate, ethyl benzoate, 4-terpineol, (-)-α-cubebene, orα-terpineol were significantly more attractive than CEH alone. The two most attractive four-component combinations were ethyl octanoate with CEH (CEHO) and ethyl benzoate with CEH. No combinations containing greater numbers of chemicals were significantly more attractive than CEHO. Therefore, CEHO was selected for further study in this paper. Of CEHO component ratios that were tested, the most attractive was 10∶1∶1∶100 for the chemicals 1,8-cineole, ethyl hexanoate, hexanol, and ethyl octanoate, respectively. Formulations of CEHO into rubber septa and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were aged 0-15 days and tested againstTorula yeast in competing McPhail traps in a flight chamber. Summed over all lure ages, rubber septa and PVC dispensers, respectively, were 1.2 and 1.5 times more attractive thanTorula yeast. PVC dispensers aged 10-15 days were approximately 2.1 times more attractive thanTorula yeast.