The behavioral responses of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) to predominant volatile compounds of apricot

Abstract Ceratitis capitata Wied. (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a significant pest of apricot (Prunus armeniaca) fruit in the spring and summer seasons in Turkey. New integrated pest management techniques are required for C. capitata to reduce dependency on insecticides used for its control that may result in negative environmental impacts. In the current study, we identified volatiles of apricot fruit by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We tested the behavioral responses of C. capitata to some of the identified compounds of apricot in both field and laboratory. Our study demonstrated that in four-arm olfactometer bioassays, C. capitata was more attracted to treated arms with 3-hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z)- and ethyl acetate than those treated with butanoic acid, 2-hexenyl ester, (E)- and untreated arm. In the wind tunnel studies, we found that the landing rate on 3-hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z)- was higher than those on butanoic acid, 2-hexenyl ester, (E)- and ethyl acetate. Similar results were obtained from the field study. Also, females of C.capitata were more responsive to volatile compounds than males. Our study could be helpful for the development of novel control strategies against the female flies of C. capitata in orchards.