Lynfield Trap

The Lynfield Trap is effectively a derivative of the Steiner Trap. It is easier to use and more specimen friendly than the Jackson Trap for quarantine surveillance programs, and equally as effective for detecting Queensland Fruit Fly, Bactrocera tryoni and Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata It is the primary trap used in fruit fly.

The Lynfield Trap consists of a disposable clear plastic cylindrical container measuring 115mm deep with a 100mm diameter base and 90mm diameter screw top. There are four evenly spaced entry holes around the wall of the trap. Each hole is 25mm across and positioned 45mm below the lip of the trap. There are four equidistant drainage holes of 2mm diameter positioned near the periphery of the trap base. The Lynfield Trap uses a lure and insecticide system to attract and kill target fruit flies.

Use

The screw-top lid is usually colour-coded to the type of lure being used (red-CAP/TML; white-ME; /yellow-CUE). A fixture in the centre of the lid provides a hook for hanging the trap as well as a means for suspending cotton wicks/dental rolls from the lid.

A simple and commonly used fixture utilises a 1 inch screw-tip cup hook (opening squeezed closed) screwed through the lid from above. One end of a paper clip is fixed to the screw end by a plastic anchor plug or other suitable retainer. The free end of the paperclip is bent downwards providing a hook onto which the wicks/wick assembly can be attached. The trap is suspended from a hanging wire about 25cm long to enable attachment to a branch of a tree allowing the trap to hang freely.

The Lynfield Trap uses the male specific parapheromone lures CUE, Capilure (CAP)/TML and ME. Capilure is a product containing TML mixed with extenders (Hill 1987). This combination has triple the life of TML alone, making it an economical alternative for trapping Mediterranean Fruit Flies under Australian conditions. A small quantity of insecticide is added to the lure or trap depending on the method of kill applicable and any associated antagonistic or repellent effect caused by the insecticide.

As CUE and ME lures are ingested by the male fruit fly, they are mixed with Malathion. However, as CAP and TML are not ingested either by Mediterranean or Natal fruit fly, a Dichlorvos impregnated matrix is placed inside the trap to kill flies that enter. This may also be used to protect the dead flies from predation by ants and other insects. Alternatively, horticultural glue such as Tanglefoot, HTC or Trappit can be applied to the hanging wire to form a barrier. For the latter, it is essential to prevent foliage from contacting parts of the trap below the barrier. A poison and information label is placed onto the trap body.