Mode of Action of Sugar-Baited Fly Traps1

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Abstract
The effectiveness of sugar as a bait for the black blowfly, Phormia regina. is not due to its being an attractant in the true sense of the word. Aggregations of flies to exposed dishes of solid or dissolved sugar are brought about by means of an ortho-kinesis. Sugar-baited traps become effective through the agency of the flies themselves. Flies escaping from traps leave a volatile contaminant on the outside of the trap entrance. Flies within the trap generate something which reacts with sugar to produce an attractive volatile brew. The contaminant is not species-specific. Flies also produce on their legs appreciable amounts of invertase which hydrolyzes sucrose, melezitose, and raffinose in decreasing order of effectiveness.

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