Effects of Temperature and Wind Speed on Pink Boll worm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Moth Captures During Spring Emergence

Abstract

Numbers of pink bollworm moths, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), captured daily in California’s Palo Verde Valley during spring emergence were recorded in 6 data sets: 1985 emergence cages; 1986, 1987, and 1989 pheromone traps in cotton fields; and 1986 and 1989 valley wide pheromone survey traps. For 5 of the 6 data sets, numbers of moths were positively correlated with mean temperature for the interval 1800-2200 hours and minimum temperature for the interval 1800-0600 hours, and negatively correlated with mean wind speed for the interval 1800-2200 hours and the time at which wind speed fell below and stayed 22°C. Although temperature and wind affect dispersion of the pheromone plume, there appears to be a direct effect on the moths themselves because regression model parameters were similar in nonpheromone-baited emergence cages and in pheromone traps.