Fruit fly attractant compositions

Details Fruit fly attractant compositions Fruit fly attractant compositions

2001-06-22

2003-04-08

Shah, Mukund J. (Department: 1624)

Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying

Traps

Insect

C424S084000, C514S415000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06543181

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of insect attractants and in particular to compositions and methods of use for attracting and trapping Drosophila fruit flies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The genus Drosophila, which includes the well-known pest species
Drosophila melanogaster
(the vinegar fly), as well as many other nuisance species, is seemingly ubiquitous and synonymous with ripe or overly ripe fruit and vegetables. Unlike fruit flies in the family Tephritidae, which are capable of causing extensive crop damage, Drosophila are not agricultural pests. However, Drosophila can be objectionable to consumers or marketers of produce, and often are associated by consumers unsanitary produce or premises.
There is no way to easily and safely use insecticides in food-handling facilities or supermarkets without causing concern for consumers. The fruit flies or the affected fruit or vegetables need to be removed. One potentially effective way to remove Drosophila fruit flies from premises is through the use of feeding or oviposition attractants placed in unobtrusive traps that are selectively deployed in sensitive environments where fruit flies are a problem. However, the only existing commercially available fruit fly trap appears to be only moderately effective in removing Drosophila.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,349, issued Feb. 13, 1996, to Muramatsu, there is disclosed an insect trap which contains a liquid insect attractant which is fully enclosed so that the trap may be shipped without spillage or loss. The trap includes an enclosure which provides a funnel shaped portion terminating in a substantially translucent nipple. The insect trap may be commissioned into service by piercing the nipple thereby creating an inlet into the interior chamber through which insects will be drawn by the liquid attractant. The nipple is formed by a thermal process so that the walls of the inlet are drawn thin creating translucent walls which form a bright spot of light larger than the inlet's opening, thereby making it difficult for trapped insects to find the opening and gain freedom. Except for the terminal portions of the inlet, the enclosure is substantially opaque so that the contents of the insect trap are not visible to the public.
There exists a commercial product that is believed to be an embodiment of the above U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,349, which consists of a small plastic vessel-type trap with a small hole in the top, and named “Natural Catch® Plus Fruit Fly Trap”. The liquid attractant used in the trap is believed to be primarily vinegar, which is referred to hereinafter as “Anderson's solution.”
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,626, issued Nov. 7, 1995, to W. Warren, et al., there is disclosed a method for attracting the insect species
Culex nigripalpus, Aedes atlanticus, Culex salinarius, Aedes vexans
, Culex spp., Simulium spp.,
Psorofeta ferox, Aedes infirmatus, Drosophila melanogaster, Coccinellidae, Anopheles crucians, Psoroferia columbiae
, Culicoides spp. and Aedes spp., using a compound having a dimethyl substituted oxymethyl cyclohexane derivative structure. This attractant finds utility primarily as a bait enhancer for acute toxins and/or trapping devices.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,107, issued Apr. 16, 1991, to C. Warren, et al., there is disclosed a novel attractant composition for use with synanthropic flies (the so-called ‘filth flies’ such as the house fly) which includes indole and skatole, a pheromone, trimethylamine hydrochloride, and a suitable carrier.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,06,821, issued Aug. 22, 2000, to Baker et al., there is disclosed (house) fly attractant compositions that comprise at least one volatile short chain carboxylic acid, at least one organic sulfide, and at least one nitrogen heterocycle. In a preferred embodiment the composition additionally comprises at least one ammonia-releasing compound. In a particularly preferred example, the composition is preparable by combining, for example, the carboxylic acid, the organic sulfide and the nitrogen heterocycle. The invention also relates to an insect trap comprising a means for retaining flies and an insect attractant composition of this invention. The trap is useful in commercial, residential and livestock facilities.
Other references related to attracting Drosophila include: West, A. S. (1961). Chemical attractants for adult Drosophila species. J. Econ. Entomol. 54:677-681; Hutner, S. H., Kaplan, H. M., and Enzmann, E. V. 1937. Chemicals attracting Drosophila. Amer. Nat. 71:575-581; Reed, M. R. 1938. The olfactory reactions of
Drosophila melanogaster
Meigen to the products of fermenting bananas. Physiol. Zool. 11:317-325; and Barrows, W. M. 1907. Reaction of the pomace fly,
Drosophila ampelophila
Loew, to odorous substances. J. Exp. Zool. 70: 515-537.
For Drosophila fruit flies, new chemical attractant compositions are needed to create attractant-traps that will be more effective at reducing the presence of Drosophila fruit fly adults. Although much work has been done on defining attractants for flies in the families Muscidae and Tephritidae, relatively little has been done to define compositions that are highly attractive to flies in the unrelated family Drosophilidae, which includes flies in the genus Drosophila.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to Drosophila fruit fly attractant and attractant-trapant compositions, to fruit fly traps which include the fruit fly attractant and attractant-trapant compositions, and to methods for attracting and trapping fruit flies using the compositions of this invention.
Particularly effective attractants for fruit flies appear to be natural products. Especially effective fruit fly attractants are the volatile natural products of the ripening and decaying of fruit or vegetable produce which can signal and serve as sites for fruit fly feeding and oviposition. The present invention identified the compounds emanating from ripe and decaying fruit, and further identified those compounds which had the greatest ability to attract Drosophila fruit flies to traps. Certain of the identified compounds were selected for use in attractant-trapant formulations and fruit fly trap applications based on neurophysiological activity on olfactory neurons on the antenna, coupled with trapping experiments with Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies.
The present invention provides in embodiments, for example:
A Drosophila fruit fly attractant composition comprising: a volatile short chain carboxylic acid, a volatile short chain alcohol, a volatile aryl substituted alcohol, and a nitrogen compound;
A synthetic fruit fly attractant-trapant composition comprising:
from about 10 to about 300 parts by weight acetic acid,
from about 0.1 to about 30 parts by weight ethanol,
from about 0.1 to about 100 parts by weight 2-phenyl ethanol,
from about 0.1 to about 100 parts by weight of a nitrogen compound,
and from about 10 to about 1,000 parts by weight a sugar, and
from about 10 to about 1,000 parts by weight water; and
A kit useful for attracting and trapping fruit flies comprising:
a bait in accordance with the compositions illustrated herein and in an amount effective to attract Drosophila fruit flies, and
a housing adapted for containing the bait and for retaining the attracted Drosophila fruit flies;
A method for attracting Drosophila fruit flies comprising: positioning in a fruit fly area an effective amount of a fruit fly attractant composition of the present invention; and
A synthetic Drosophila fruit fly attractant composition prepared by combining an effective amount of a simple sugar; a volatile carboxylic acid; a short alkyl chain alcohol; an aryl substituted short alkyl chain alcohol; and at least one nitrogen heterocycle compound, wherein the composition attracts a substantial majority of available Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies and in preference to ripe or rotten fruit, or produce, that is situated in close proximity to the synthetic fruit fly attractant.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, the above mentioned positioning takes place in, for exampl

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