title: Effectiveness of thiamethoxam-coated spheres against blueberry maggot flies (Diptera: Tephritidae).
abstract: Studies were conducted to evaluate the mortality of blueberry maggot, Rhagoletis mendax Curran, flies exposed to thiamethoxam- and imidacloprid-coated biodegradable (8-cm-diameter) red spheres, under both laboratory and field conditions. Laboratory studies with spheres coated with 0.1-2.0% (AI) of thiamethoxam indicated that they are effective against R. mendax; however, no dose-dependent response was observed. Studies on the effect of visitation time on thiamethoxam-coated spheres showed a decrease in R. mendax mortality as the duration of visitation time decreased from 60 to 10 s. Under field conditions, significantly more flies were captured on Plexiglas panes below the 2% (AI) thiamethoxam-coated spheres when compared with similar panes below untreated spheres. In field evaluations of thiamethoxam- and imidacloprid-coated spheres, imidacloprid-coated spheres (2.0% [AI]) were found to be significantly more effective than thiamethoxam-coated spheres (0.5-4.0% [AI]). Field trials to characterize the levels of mortality associated with aging pesticide-coated spheres revealed that the effectiveness of treated spheres decreased with increasing age of sphere, and this reduction in effectiveness is greater in thiamethoxam-coated spheres than in imidacloprid-coated spheres. These results provide comparative data on the effectiveness of thiamethoxam- and imidacloprid-coated spheres and support the potential of using pesticide-treated spheres for control of blueberry maggot flies.
authors.affiliation: Blueberry and Cranberry Research & Extension Center, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ 08019, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ayyappath
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Polavarapu
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: McGuire
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera; D005638:Fruit; D007093:Imidazoles; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods; D007306:Insecticides; D000073943:Neonicotinoids; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; D007306:Insecticides; D000073943:Neonicotinoids; D009574:Nitro Compounds; C082359:imidacloprid