Anastrepha Fruit Fly Species

Controlling the spread of these damaging flies in their country of origin and preventing them from entering the United States is the cooperative goal between the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and ISCA Technologies, Inc., of Riverside, California.

ARS researcher David Robacker worked with a team in Weslaco, Texas to develop an effective synthetic fruit fly lure to draw flies away from crops. They tested the lure on sticky bottle traps and it proved 20 times more effective than standard South American fruit fly traps and remained effective for 16 weeks.

The new tool could be used for mass-trapping, detecting and monitoring fly species, or at bait and kill stations. Future research will determine if the lure will work in other states and with other species of flies.

--Bjorn Carey

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Credit: Jack Dykinga