Evaluation of different food attractants for capture of Lonchaeidae (Diptera: Tephritoidea) in passion fruit orchard in southern Santa Catarina state, Brazil

Brazil is the world’s largest producer and consumer of yellow passion fruit, Passiflora edulis Sims (Passifloraceae). Among the insects identified as pests associated with passion fruit, Lonchaeidae flies are of great economic importance because they damage floral buds, thereby affecting fruit development and causing production losses. However, there is no recommended monitoring system that uses traps and attractants. Thus, this study, conducted in a commercial crop, aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different food attractants in McPhail traps in the capture of Lonchaeidae to promote integrated management programs for these flies. The results showed that the attractants torula yeast ( Candida utilis ) and hydrolyzed protein of animal origin (Cera Trap®) were the most efficient in the capture of Lonchaeidae flies. From an economic point of view, the use of torula yeast would be recommended since this product is cheaper to purchase. This is the first study to determine the efficiency of Cera Trap® in the capture of lonchaeids in passion fruit orchards.