Early-Season Movements of Pink Bollworm Male Moths Between Selected Habitats12

Abstract

The movement of native males of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) was studied during April and May 1980 in an area of mixed agriculture and desert near Phoenix, Ariz. Seventeen Lingren live traps were placed in cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, and desert habitats. Captured native males were marked with fluorescent dyes and released at the site of their capture, and their movement was determined by recapture. Of recaptured marked moths, 55 to 83% were recaptured in the habitat where they were captured initially. Of recaptured moths from desert, beet, and alfalfa habitats 18 to 26% were recaptured in cotton, whereas 4 to 7% of recaptured moths from cotton were taken in the other habitats. Total catches of males were approximately evenly distributed among habitats during most of the study except for large catches in one trap in cotton. A single release of ca. 750 males of the sooty strain near the center of the study area resulted in dispersal in all directions and 7.3% recovery. A single light trap operated in each type of habitat during the study period resulted in the following captures of females (percent mated): desert 10 (90%); beets 19 (79%); alfalfa 5 (80%); and cotton 4 (100%). Mating stations operated in desert and cotlon habitats resulted in the following percentages of matings between WCRL-strain laboratory females and native males: desert, 50; and cotton, 53. The results have implications for management of the pink bollworm by confusion.