Potential attractants from three host plants of Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is a polyphagous pest that damages a wide variety of fruits in the tropics, including East Africa. In this paper, we aimed to evaluate the attraction of kairomones shared by three hosts of Bactrocera dorsalis to lay the groundwork towards the development of attractants for the management of pests by targeting females. Gas ChromatographyElectroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) were carried out to identify compounds that elicit antennal response of B. dorsalis. Recording from the antennae, identified 44 GC-EAD active peaks, most of which were esters. Furthermore, synthetic blends tested were composed of ethyl butanoate, (E)-β-farnesene, trans-β-ocimene and ethyl hexanoate from compounds shared by at least two of the three hosts (Mangifera indica (mango): Sclerocarya birrea (marula), and Terminalia catappa (tropical almond)). Four blends were formulated from shared compounds and evaluated in a multi-choice olfactometer. Our results have shown that the four-compound blend was the most attractive. The results form a springboard for developing host-derived attractants for managing B. dorsalis females, which can form part of an integrated pest management strategy for the pest.