Catches of target and non-target scarab pests in floral-chemical baited color traps in Bulgaria

Abstract

Field investigations with CSALOMON® floral-chemical baited color traps for scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidoidaea) were organized in eight sites in different regions in Bulgaria during 2009–2010. As a result data about distribution and seasonal flight were obtained for the target species Cetonia aurata L. and Protaetia cuprea (Fabricius) and two other non-target species, Valgus hemipterus L. and Blitopertha lineolata (Fischer von Waldheim). Catches of C. aurata were recorded in all of the sites where observations were organized but the number of the beetles caught was relatively low. The earliest catches of this pest were registered in the middle-end of April and the latest ones in early August. Single catches of P. cuprea, not allowing doing conclusions about seasonal flight for this species, were recorded only in Dryanovo, Knezha, Plovdiv and Troyan. Catches of V. hemipterus, were registered in all of the sites with the exception of Petrich. The flight period of this species, as established by catches in the traps, was middle-end of April — early June. Significant number of B. lineolata was caught in Dryanovo in 2009 and single catches in Plovdiv in 2009 and Kyustendil in 2009 and 2010. The earliest catches for the two years in Dryanovo were registered in the middle-end of May and the latest ones in the middle of June. This is the first report about floral-chemical attractant for this species. For all four species the relative catches in traps for C. aurata/P. cuprea, Tropinota (Epicometis) hirta (Poda) and Oxythyrea funesta (Poda), operating simultaneously in the investigated sites, were presented and analyzed.