ES2277709A1 - Selective plastic trap for selective capture of Mediterranean fruit flies, has visual solid chemicals contained inside hollow and perforated plastic cylinder to attract flies, and cork with common hook for closes upper part of cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

The trap contains visual solid chemicals that attract Mediterranean fruit flies. The trap also includes a hollow plastic cylinder surrounded with an opaque yellow band and perforated to allow entry of attracted flies into the cylinder. The flies are trapped inside the cylinder since they tend to fly upwards once inside the cylinder. A cork with a common hook closes the upper part of the cylinder, in which the cork can be removed to allow placement of bait into the trap, to extract contents from inside the trap, and to hang the trap vertically.

Description

Hanging trap of plastic material for selective capture of Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitata ).

Technical sector

The invention falls within the technical sector of traps and other devices to fight insect pests Harmful to crops.

State of the art

The control of fruit insects is considerable economic importance for production, marketing and export of vegetables, both as far as refers to the efforts and costs derived from the control of pests, such as the economic losses suffered by producers and traders in areas affected by insects.

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata , constitutes an important, predominant and endemic fruit pest in the countries of the subtropical and Mediterranean area, due to its wide distribution and its important host range.

Its importance derives from the ability of the fertilized females of C. capitata , to deposit fertile eggs inside a large number of fruit varieties, whose development, commercial value and export possibility from that moment are null, both for the alterations that the eggs and larvae produce in the fruits, as for the possibility of extension of the pest to other geographical contexts where the climatic conditions make possible its settlement.

Considerable efforts are invested in the affected areas for the control of the pest, among which those destined for insecticidal treatments, both limited to crops such as extensive, terrestrial or aerial, to areas where the Mediterranean fruit fly spreads. In both cases they are of doubtful utility if they do not fit very well to the time of reproduction of C. capitata . These treatments have a significant environmental impact. On the one hand they affect other non-frugivorous and even productive species such as bees. They are also incorporated into the animal and human food chain, both directly and through the intake of contaminated species. Other consequences are the contamination of aquifers by deposition, of the atmosphere, of the soil and other surfaces, of the atmosphere and the whole set of consequences that this entails for the human being and the environment in
general.

Finally they disable the fruit produced for marketing as an organic product in accordance with requirements for this type of crops.

Moreover, the authorities responsible for phytosanitary aspects in free zones, but susceptible to extension of the pest, establish extensive controls not discriminated against plant products originating in the areas endemic, with the consequent economic damage of producers and exporters

Technical problem raised

In view of all this, the use of traps and attractants, as a complementary procedure and for the evaluation of the impact of other strategies.

The development of improved decoys is necessary to monitor and eliminate the individuals of these flies, as well as to prevent the establishment of colonies in areas that in the Currently they do not suffer from this plague.

The methods developed to monitor, control and eradicate fruit flies (Tephritids) have been extensively based on the use of chemical attractants, mainly in a liquid state.

Frequently these chemical attractants have been nonspecific of species or genus, so that individuals of different species, frugivorous or not, were trapped, and within those, individuals with and without reproductive capacity. This circumstance has produced a considerable inefficiency of the used lures, which have often been rendered useless when filled with non-fruiting insects. On the other hand, the diversity of trapped species has made impossible in these cases, both the quantitative study of trapped individuals, an essential aspect to know the effectiveness of using the lure itself extensively, as well as its selective use to monitor fluctuations in populations. of C. capitata and the impact of any other control and elimination procedures on these populations.

Trimedlure is used on excipient solid, it attracts male Mediterranean fruit flies, but it is Only weakly active to attract females.

Unlike Trimedlure, other baits used as the hydrolyzed yeast protein in fermentation, they are not selective of species or gender and produce the attraction of males and females of species, frugivorous or not.

These types of baits require the addition repeated water and bait, which determines a high cost of service. Moreover, the trap manipulation for your maintenance, can produce the shedding of the bait, which It is a food source for flies out of the trap. The removal of trapped insects also requires an effort considerable, since the content of the trap has to be filtered to through a sieve to separate the insects from the solution bait. Protein bait solutions capture large numbers of unwanted insects and considerable time is required to separate the harmful fruit flies the pest from insects not Wanted. The fruit flies recovered from these traps are,  frequently, very decomposed, missing parts. This increases the difficulty to differentiate when use these traps in population monitoring programs frugivorous

Other factors that contribute to hinder the Hydrolyzate bait trap deployment include its size, fragility and the high weight and cost of the trap, derived from Be built in glass.

In addition to Trimedlure, it has been shown that certain visual stimuli, such as black or yellow spheres, possess a marked attraction of the Mediterranean fly, but the males are particularly attracted to colored rectangles yellow.

This attraction capacity has been used extensively in combination with the use of sticky materials for retain captured insects.

These materials are difficult to use and the traps require constant maintenance to remove numerous unwanted flies captured and also to replenish the sticky material.

It is reported that the addition of the lure Trimedlure chemical to yellow rectangles or black spheres, improved the attraction for males of Mediterranean flies of the fruit

Fly capture has also been reported fruit female, based on pheromones produced by males, in combination with a sphere as visual decoy. Without However, the usefulness of this combination is limited, since the Fruit fly females are only attracted to pheromones male of his species during the periods in which he is physiologically prepared to mate, this is for periods very short, so this procedure is not used in the present.

The use of toxic panels inside fruit fly traps, makes these devices more expensive and by This limits its extension. They also constitute elements of environmental pollution and disable fruit produced for marketing as an organic product in accordance with requirements for this type of crops.

Detailed description of the drawings

It consists of a plastic body (1), transparent, cylindrical, hollow, about 10 cm high and about 8 cm in diameter at the bottom where it closes. In his part  upper form a conical narrowing finished in a 4 cm diameter hole intended for the introduction of the bait and content extraction. The trap is closed by half thread with a plug (4) integral with a hook (5), both of which material, whose purpose is to suspend the trap of branches or cables.

An opaque plastic band of bright yellow color (2) 3 cm wide is located completely surrounding the perimeter of the trap, with its edge less than 3 cm from the base.

Both elements have five perforations (3) 0.5 cm in diameter distributed regularly following a horizontal layout The perforations of both elements must be matching, so that they connect the outside with the inside of the  trap.

Once the Trimedlure solid bait is placed inside the trap, it and the yellow band that surrounds it, act as a selectively attractant for males of C. capitata , which will eventually tend to enter the trap by the holes made in it. Once there, their natural tendency to fly upward will prevent them from leaving the trap. Since there is no liquid substrate, the captured specimens can be counted and examined even weeks after they have died.

The use of selective attractants, both chemical (Trimedlure) as visuals (yellow band) prevents the entry of other species, increasing their capacity, decreasing periodic emptying needs and allowing the examination and counting of the flies trapped for monitoring purposes.

The use of solid substrate attractants prevents possibility of the bait spilling or drying out by evaporation and therefore limits maintenance needs for replacement.

The size and materials used allow its Easy placement and extensive use at low cost.

The absence of insecticides allows control of the plague by an absolutely respectful procedure with the environment.

Claims (3)

1. Hanging trap of plastic material characterized by being a body of transparent, smooth, cylindrical, hollow plastic material, 10 cm high and 8 cm in diameter at the bottom, where it closes; with a truncated conical narrowing in its upper part of 4 cm high, finished in a hole of 4 cm in diameter with a thread, to which a plug of plastic material with an internal thread and integral with a hook is attached; with an opaque plastic band of bright yellow color 3 cm wide completely surrounding the perimeter of the trap, with its edge less than 3 cm from the base; with five perforations of 0.5 cm in diameter and that cross both the band and the cylinder on which it is; and with a solid bait inside. 2. Useful trap to fight the plague of C. capitata . 3. Useful trap for the monitoring of populations and the evaluation of the effectiveness of other methods of fight against the plague of C. capitata .