A spatio-temporal approach for the occurrence of traps capturing sexually mature Anastrepha ludens females over an extensive citrus area in Mexico

Abstract

The Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a pest of citrus crops in Mexico. A two years study was conducted aimed to analyze the spatio-temporal occurrence of traps that capture sexually mature A. ludens females in a citrus area in Mexico. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the monthly fluctuation of traps that captured sexually mature A. ludens females. A non-parametric interpolation, the Voronoi diagrams, was used to analyze spatial patterns of such traps according to availability levels of commercial hosts. The monthly analysis revealed a high activity of sexually mature females linked to a high availability of commercial hosts such as the orange fruit cultivar `Valencia' in January, February, March, and April. By contrast, negative trends were showed when a lower availability of commercial hosts was observed from May to September. The availability of grapefruit from October yielded an increase of traps with capture of mature females. A spatial heterogeneity was depicted by the Voronoi diagrams regarding the distribution of traps with mature females. Such spatial variability was linked to availability levels of the commercial hosts across the year. The prevalence of areas with high levels of mature females in autumn continued to be present until the spring. This study provided evidence of an intrapopulation variability of A. ludens associated with a geographical space and temporal patterns. Practical implications for an Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM) approach are discussed.