Four-Component Synthetic Food Bait for Attracting Both Sexes of the Melon Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

A nine-component synthetic mixture was developed to replace protein hydrolysates as food bait for melon flies, Dacus cucurbitae Coquillett, based on likely breakdown products of protein fermentation and on nutritional considerations. The nine-component mixture was found to be as attractive as a standard hydrolyzed protein bait. Subsequent research showed that only four of the nine components were important. The four-component mixture, made up of ammonium bicarbonate, linolenic acid, putrescine, and pyrrolidine, was as effective as the standard food bait.