D3006: Evaluation of non-nutritive sweeteners for potential use as phagostimulants in house fly baits

House fly, Musca domestica L., populations are often controlled by use of pesticide baits that contain sucrose as a phagostimulant. The widespread use of these sucrose-based baits leads to concerns for the evolution of behavioral resistance to the phagostimulant in the bait in addition to the risk of mechanical and physiological resistance of the insecticide. Allulose and neotame were tested as possible replacement phagostimulants compared to fructose or sucrose as controls. Allulose and neotame are non-nutritive sweeteners. Allulose is a naturally occurring epimer of the sugar fructose that has seen a rise in use as a keto-sweetener. Neotame is a heat stable derivative of the artificial sweetener aspartame. First the proboscis extension response (PER) was observed for dry allulose, neotame, fructose, and sucrose. Dry neotame did not elicit PER so was not included in subsequent experiments. Allulose elicited some PER but elicited lower rates of PER and consumption compared to sucrose or fructose whether dry or in solution.