Drosophila suzukii, a small fly also known as spotted wing drosophila, is an invasive pest of several fruit crops. A new study on chemical lures for trapping and monitoring the insect has optimized a formula for significantly greater attraction. (Photo credit: Hannah Burrack, North Carolina State University, Bugwood.org)
To slightly modify an old adage, you can catch more flies with increased levels of acetoin, acetic acid, and ethanol than with methionol.
Specifically, the fly in question is spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), an invasive pest in North American and Europe that attacks several fruit crops. A lure for catching and monitoring in D. suzukii populations was developed in 2014 using four chemicals from wine and vinegar, and now a team of researchers has tinkered with relative levels of those chemicals in the lure to double its attractiveness. Their research was published this week in the journal Environmental…
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