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- Title
Consumption of β-Caryophyllene Increases the Mating Success of Bactrocera zonata Males (Diptera: Tephritidae).
- Authors
ul Haq, Ihsan; Fatima, Sehar; Rasool, Awais; Shelly, Todd E.
- Abstract
Simple Summary: The genus Bactrocera contains invasive fruit fly species that lay eggs in and consume many important fruits and vegetables. Two tactics used to control these flies include the male annihilation and the sterile insect techniques. Bactrocera males are attracted to and feed on methyl eugenol, a chemical found in many plants. Baiting traps with a mixture of this chemical and an insecticide are used to annihilate males and, thereby, the pest population. The release of sterile males (achieved via irradiation) results in mating with wild females that results in inviable embryos. Feeding on ME (without insecticide) enhances the mating success of Bactrocera spp. males and suppresses their subsequent attraction to methyl eugenol + insecticide traps, enabling the simultaneous application of the male annihilation and the sterile insect techniques, which will boost the efficiency of control programs. However, methyl eugenol may pose human health risks, and this study demonstrated that feeding on an alternative and safer plant compound, β-caryophyllene, similarly led to the increased mating success of Bactrocera zonata and reduced their subsequent attraction to methyl-eugenol-baited traps. The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is an economically important polyphagous quarantine pest of horticultural crops endemic to South and Southeast Asia. Methyl eugenol (ME), a naturally occurring phenylpropanoid, is a male attractant used to lure and (when mixed with an insecticide) annihilate the males from the wild population, a method of pest control termed the male annihilation technique (MAT). ME is reported to enhance the mating success of sterile males of Bactrocera spp., which is critical for enhancing the effectiveness of the sterile insect technique (SIT). The suppressed response of ME-treated males to ME-baited traps/devices allows the simultaneous application of the MAT and SIT, increasing the efficiency of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs. However, ME treatment in sterile males in SIT facilities is logistically difficult. β-caryophyllene (BCP) is a widely occurring, safer plant compound and is considered suitable for treating males in SIT facilities. Here, we demonstrate that BCP feeding enhanced B. zonata male mating success to the same extent as ME feeding. Feeding on BCP suppressed the male's subsequent attraction to ME-baited traps, but not to the same degree as feeding on ME. The results are discussed and BCP is suggested as an alternative to ME for the concurrent use of the MAT and SIT.
- Subjects
SOUTHEAST Asia; BACTROCERA; TEPHRITIDAE; DIPTERA; INTEGRATED pest control; FLY control; PEACH
- Publication
Insects (2075-4450), 2024, Vol 15, Issue 5, p310
- ISSN
2075-4450
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/insects15050310