Abstract
The performance of a semisynthetic bisexual lure (SBL, containing isoamyl alcohol, acetic acid and red wine) previously found attractive for a number of noctuids was compared with that of the respective synthetic sex attractants of Orthosia cerasi (=stabilis), O. cruda, O. gothica, O. incerta, Anorthoa munda and Conistra vaccini. The respective sex attractants performed significantly better in the Orthosia spp. than the SBL lure, which, although regularly catching low numbers of both females and males, did not differ significantly from zero catch in unbaited control traps. On the other hand, the SBL lure performed as well as the sex attractant in C. vaccini. Sizeable catches of C. rubiginea, C. rubiginosa and C. erythrocephala were also recorded in traps with the SBL lure. The SBL lure can prove to be a useful tool in ecological and faunistical studies of Conistra and related hibernating Xylenini species.
Highlights
The larvae of species of the noctuid genus Orthosia feed on leaves of various trees in late spring/early summer, and some species are known to cause damages to orchard and forest trees as well (Cayrol, 1966)
Sex attractants have been described among the pest Orthosia in Europe for Orthosia cruda (Denis et Schiffermüller, 1775), Orthosia incerta (Hufnagel, 1766), Orthosia gothica (Linnaeus, 1758), O rthosia cerasi (Fabricius, 1775) (= stabilis (Denis et Schiffermüller, 1775)) and Anorthoa munda (Denis et Schiffermüller, 1775) (Booij and Voerman, 1984; Tóth et al, 1992, 1993), and traps baited with these are available for detection and monitoring
We were encouraged to embark on such a study, since in a preliminary experiment in 2012 traps baited with the mixture of iso-amyl alcohol plus acetic acid captured 97 Orthosia specimens (O. cerasi: 28%, O. cruda 33%, O. gothica: 8%, O. incerta: 15% and A. munda: 16%) while unbaited traps caught a single O. cerasi. (Tóth et al, unpublished)
Summary
The larvae of species of the noctuid genus Orthosia feed on leaves of various trees in late spring/early summer, and some species are known to cause damages to orchard and forest trees as well (Cayrol, 1966). We managed to increase the effect of this known synthetic attractant by the addition of natural ingredients such as wine extracts or wine, and this improved semisynthetic bisexual lure (SBL) attracted more than a hundred noctuid species (both females and males) in field tests in Hungary and Transcarpathia (Nagy et al, 2014, 2015; Szanyi et al, 2015; Tóth et al, 2015). It appeared to be worthwhile to test this semisynthetic bisexual lure for attractancy on pest Orthosia species as well This present research was undertaken to compare the activity of the SBL lure with that of the respective synthetic sex attractants of some Orthosia spp. Data on other noctuids being on the wing in early spring (i.e. hibernated Conistra spp.) are presented
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