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Globally, cucurbit crops constitute over 5.6% of the total vegetable production (Rai et al., 2008). Several insect pests are known to disrupt the production of cucurbits; among them, the melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a key pest causing considerable economic loss (Badii et al., 2015;Ekesi et al., 2011). Losses are mainly through fruit-damage by ovipositing female flies, thus decreasing overall yield (Ordax et al., 2015).Presently, control of melon flies is mainly through use of insecticides (Aktar et al., 2009;Dhillon et al., 2005). Although the use of male para-pheromone traps (Cuelure) has proven to be effective in controlling fly population levels, populations can easily recuperate with few males that escape trapping. Therefore, control of female population is desirable as they are the primary reason for damage and future fly populations. There are few lures that attract females and are limited to phago-attractants such as protein hydrolysate and sugars (Jang & Light, 1996). Inopportunely, these lures lack potency, have restricted field life, are arduous to handle and attract non-target species (Jang & Light, 1996). Presently, there are limited

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