Design and relative efficiency of Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) bucket traps

We examined responses of male Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), to bucket and modified bucket traps with different entrance hole sizes and colors. Except for wild fly captures in bucket traps, C. capitata captures varied directly with entrance hole size. The greatest C. capitata captures were achieved with orange and yellow bucket traps and orange modified bucket traps. We then compared bucket and modified bucket traps with Jackson and Steiner traps. This study did not generate the sampling variability data required for a trap cost reliability analysis, so a definitive choice among traps is not yet possible, but some practical inferences are possible. The Jackson trap captured the highest numbers of wild flies during a 2-h period, but it is more appropriate for survey than monitoring when C. capitata are abundant because its capture surface is limited. The yellow and orange bucket traps were more suitable for monitoring large numbers of C. capitata because of greater fly holding capacities. The modified bucket trap appears well suited for use in wet environments because of its water-resistant design