Australian Stonefruit Grower Magazine Issue 4 April 2017 | Page 19

Research
using blue fluorescent light traps 5 .
Moths have proven more difficult to
The gazania, at left, is how we see the flower, whereas the
image at right shows how it appears to an insect's eye.
control, despite the large numbers
found in light traps 6 .
UV light is not only attractive to
nocturnal insects, although in broad
daylight the effects are less dramatic.
Macquarie University, together
with Applied Horticultural Research,
recently conducted a series of tests
in the laboratory, large outdoor field
cages, and finally in a chilli crop,
looking into exactly this question.
The work was funded by Horticulture
Innovation Australia using the
vegetable R&D levy and funds from
the Australian Government and -
perhaps surprisingly - it's the first time such a study has
been done.
Current monitoring systems for Qfly use traps
baited with the parapheromone cue-lure. This has the
disadvantage that it only attracts male flies. Moreover, if
MAT is being used in the same orchard then trapping data
is unreliable.
Tests with different species of moths have shown that
UV light can be quite sex specific; it can attract mainly
males, mainly females or the whole population 7 . In this case
both male and female Qfly have been found to be equally
attracted to UV light. Attraction was most pronounced
around dusk and immediately afterwards, the usual time at
which Qfly mates.
The Qflies were also attracted to green LED lights – but
in this case during the day rather than at night. In contrast,
the flies tended to avoid areas strongly illuminated with
white light at all times.
Gonzalez-Varo JP, Ortiz-Sanchez JF, Vila M. 2016. Total bee dependence on one flower species despite
available congeners of similar floral shape. PLOSone http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163122
2 
Nguyen THN et al. 2009. Manipulation of ultraviolet light affects immigration behavior of Ceratothripoi-
des claratris. J. Econ. Entomol. 102:1559-1556.
3 
Costa HS, Robb KL, Wilen CA. 2002. Field trials measuring the effects of ultraviolet-absorbing green-
house films on insect populations. J. Econ. Entomol. 95:113-120.
4 
Thomas CD. 1989. Limits and scope of light-trapping for studying moth population dynamics. NZ
Entomol. 12:89-90.
5 
Shimoda M, Honda K. 2013. Insect reactions to light and its applications to pest management. Appl.
Entomol. Zool. 48:413-421.
6 
Frank FD. 1988. Impact of outdoor lighting on moths: an assessment. J. Lepidopterists Soc. 42:63-93.
7 
Garris HW, Snyder JA. 2010. Sex-specific attraction of moth species to ultraviolet light traps. Southeast-
ern Nauralist. 9:427-434.
1 
A protoype UV light trap for fruit
flies, installed in chilli crop. Yellow
sticky traps were added to check
how many Qfly visited the light.
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April 2017 | Australian Stonefruit Grower
19