Assessing the composition and abundance of beneficial fauna trapped in Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) traps in peach orchards in Tunisia

• Published in: Journal of Asia-Pacific entomology Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 102307 - 6
• Main Authors: Braham, Mohamed, Ben Khedher, Hassib, Moussa, Ahmed, Lamouchi, Amal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2024; 한국응용곤충학회
• Subjects: Apidae; attractants; beneficial insects; Braconidae; Ceratitis capitata; Chalcididae; Chrysoperla carnea; Coccinellidae; Colletidae; Crabronidae; Delta trap; entomology; Eucoilidae; family; fauna; Female attractant; females; Formicidae; Halictidae; Ichneumonidae; Megachilidae; microscopes; Natural enemies; parasitic wasps; Peach; peaches; Pompilidae; Pteromalidae; Scelionidae; species; Syrphidae; Torymidae; Tunisia; 농학; Tunisia; Ceratitis capitata; Female attractant; Delta trap; Peach; Natural enemies
• ISSN: 1226-8615; 1876-7790
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aspen.2024.102307

[Display omitted] •The attractiveness of MedFly female attractants to non-target Arthropods in traps.•Traps attract high number of Ceratitis capitata adults.•The non-target Arthropods captured belonged to four orders and 18 families.•Among beneficial insects captured, Chrysoperla carnea is the most captured species. Experiment on trapping non-target arthropods in conventional delta traps baited with Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) female attractant was undertaken in multi-variety peaches orchards in the north East of Tunisia during the cultivation season (from May 2022 to September 2022). Hence, 24 Delta traps having white sticky panels were placed in the experimental site and inspected generally at weekly interval. Captured insects were determined to family level visually using a manual magnifying glass when possible, or gently removed and identified in the laboratory under binocular microscope either on family or species levels. Results indicated that traps attracted very low number of non-target arthropods compared to Mediterranean fruit fly adults. Collected species belonged to families: Apidae, Halictidae, Colletidae, Megachilidae, Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, Scelionidae, Pteromalidae, Torymidae, Chalcididae, Eucoilidae, Syrphidae, Pompilidae, Crabronidae, Coccinellidae, Chrysopidae and Formicidae. In total, more than 700 adults of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) were attracted and 53 % of captured individuals are parasitic wasp species belonging particularly to Pteromalidae and Scelionidae families. Compared to the highest level of MedFly capture, the effect of delta traps baited with the female attractants on beneficials can be considered as insignificant (Kruskal-Wallis test ANOVA H = 35.6947, P < 0.00001). Hence, trapping grid can be used to monitor the population of MedFly without hazardous effects on beneficial insect fauna.