A new trimedlure plug dispenser for the attraction of male Mediterranean fruit flies

A new commercial plug dispenser containing trimedlure, the parapheromone fo r male medflies, Ceraritis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), was developed and tested. The dispenser showed high efficacy in comparison to reference cotton wicks baited with trimedlure and to the standard AgriSense plug dispenser, containing trimedlure, now in use in all medfly detection programs. Fly captures were not significantly different with the two styles of plugs when aged and tested in Hawaii. When both plugs were aged in Cali fornia and then tested in Hawaii, the fly captures with the new plug were n ot significantly different from the standard AgriSense plug except for bein g significantly higher for the T-1 and T-2 weeks of aging. The residual amo unts of trimedlure in the new plug after each aging period in California co mpared to that in the AgriSense plug during the same aging period were 6.8% and 3.2% greater for T-0 and T-1 weeks aged, respectively, and 13.6%, 19.1 %, and 26.2% less for T-2, T-4, T-6 weeks aged, respectively. However, the emission rates of the California-aged new plug exceeded that of the Califor nia-aged standard AgriSense plug by 7.2, 29.6, 33.3, 14.6, and 9.5% for T-0 , T-1, T-2, T-4, and T-6, respectively.