Effectiveness of GF‐120NF Fruit Fly Bait as a suppression tool for Bactrocera latifrons (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) is a tephritid fruit fly of primarily Asian distribution that has invaded Hawaii and, more recently, the continent of Africa (Tanzania and Kenya). It primarily infests solanaceous fruits, so has the potential to impact production of crops such as peppers (Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum frutescens L.), eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Because little work has been done to develop suppression techniques for this fruit fly species, field cage tests of the effectiveness of a commercially available bait spray, GF‐120NF Fruit Fly Bait, against wild B. latifrons were conducted. Sexually mature B. latifrons adults (75 male and 75 female) were introduced to both a control cage and a treatment cage, each of which held six fruiting Anaheim chili pepper (C. annuum L.) plants. Fruits were harvested, and assessed for infestation, both before and after the application of the bait spray in the treatment cage. There was no difference in infestation rate between control and treatment cages before the application of the bait spray, whereas there was a significantly lower infestation rate in treatment cages following the application of the bait spray. Post‐spray infestation rate in the treatment cages (in two separate, replicated bioassays) was always zero and no live flies were detected in the treatment cages at the end of the trials. The results of this study provide evidence that GF‐120NF Fruit Fly Bait should be effective in suppressing B. latifrons populations in the field.