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1 October 2018 Laboratory and Field Assessments of Erythritol Derivatives on the Survival, Reproductive Rate, and Control of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)
Blair J. Sampson, Michael W. Easson, Stephen J. Stringer, Christopher T. Werle, Daniel Magee, John J. Adamczyk
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Abstract

Spotted-wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is a vinegar fly introduced unintentionally into the United States. Since 2008, D. suzukii has reduced annual berry yields from 6 to 100%. Effective control of D. suzukii during harvest requires weekly applications of low-residual, broad-spectrum insecticides that are unavailable for organic farming. A novel ingestible insecticide, a 4-carbon polyol, mesoerythritol (erythritol), was found to kill 75 to 100% of larval and adult D. suzukii. However, mesoerythritol, at effective concentrations (0.5–1.0M), may be cost-prohibitive. Therefore, we conducted laboratory tests to assess the effects of lower cost derivatives of erythritol, namely the pentaerythritol series of 1,3-diols on D. suzukii pupal production, adult production, adult mortality, brood output, and reproductive increase. We then selected the two most promising compounds for a field test on fruiting rabbiteye blueberry. From 90 to 100% of adults died when fed food moistened with 1M solutions of mesoerythritol and pentaerythritol. Mesoerythritol and dipentaerythritol at a concentration of 1M were ovicidal/ larvicidal, killing ≥85% of immatures. Overall, 1M mesoerythritol killed 80% or more larvae and adults, thus bringing populations to near zero. The heaviest compound of this series, tripentaerythritol, at all concentrations, was largely benign to both adults and immatures. Thus, we cannot recommend tripentaerythritol for D. suzukii control. In a blueberry field, 0.5M mesoerythritol and 0.5M pentaerythritol, each by themselves, reduced egg infestation by 64% and larval infestation by 93%; their combination (0.25M mesoerythritol and 0.25M pentaerythritol) achieved even greater egg control with 82% fewer eggs infesting blueberry fruits.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2018. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
Blair J. Sampson, Michael W. Easson, Stephen J. Stringer, Christopher T. Werle, Daniel Magee, and John J. Adamczyk "Laboratory and Field Assessments of Erythritol Derivatives on the Survival, Reproductive Rate, and Control of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 112(1), 173-180, (1 October 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy274
Received: 29 September 2017; Accepted: 12 August 2018; Published: 1 October 2018
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KEYWORDS
ingestible
insecticide
mode of action
organic
polyol
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