Eur. J. Entomol. 94 (2): 199-209, 1997
Visual and olfactory behaviour of Delia antiqua (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) in relation to time of day and ovarian development
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Visual and olfactory responses of onion maggot flies (OMF), Delia antiqua (Meigen), to food and oviposition resources in relation to sex, ovarian development, and time of day, were evaluated in a commercial onion field in Cloverdale, British Columbia, using horizontal coloured sticky traps baited with the oviposition attractant dipropyl-disulphide (DPDS) or feeding attractant, enzymatic yeast hydrolysate (EYH). White and blue were among the most attractive colours to both males and females, but the sex ratio was strongly male-biased (2.7 : 1). Both olfactory baits increased catches of male OMF on all coloured traps to the same extent but neither bait affected the attractiveness ranking of colours. EYH significantly increased female catches on all coloured traps, whereas DPDS only significantly increased response to white traps. The joint action of visual and olfactory stimuli appeared additive in both sexes, not synergistic. DPDS significantly increased catches of mature, gravid females, whereas EYH increased catches of immature females and unbaited traps caught equal proportions of immature and mature flies. The addition of DPDS to white sticky traps could improve monitoring programmes for OMF by attracting more ovipositing females, especially at low populations levels. Census of trap catches every 2 h established a minor flight peak between 10.00 and 12.00 h, primarily in response to food baits, and a major early evening peak (18.00-20.00 h) in response to DPDS. Daily activity patterns of males and females were not significantly different and activity patterns were independent of trap colour. Response to DPDS was low throughout the morning and only started to increase in late afternoon, which is correlated with oviposition patterns observed in laboratory studies. A general crepuscular behaviour and high early evening activity supports the view that where insecticide sprays are still used effectively, these should be applied in early evening.
Keywords: Anthomyiidae, Delia antiqua, onion maggot fly, activity rhythms, ovarian development, oviposition, feeding, host-finding behaviour, monitoring
Accepted: December 19, 1996; Published: May 15, 1997 Show citation
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