Field Evaluation of Commercial Pheromone Formulations and Traps Using a More Effective Sex Pheromone Blend for the Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)1

Abstract

A four-component blend of the recently identified sex pheromone for the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), was formulated in different commercial dispensing systems (rubber septa, microtubules, polyvials, plastic laminates) and fieldtested against wild moths at Gainesville, Fla., and in Guadeloupe, French West Indies. A pheromone blend that consisted of (percentage by weight) (Z)-7-dodecen-l-ol acetate (Z7-12:AC), (0.45%), (Z)-9-dodecen-l-ol acetate (0.25%), (Z)-9-tetradecen-l-ol acetate (Z9-14:AC) (81.61%), and (Z)-ll-hexadecen-l-ol acetate (17.69%) was highly effective as a lure for the FAW when formulated at 2 mg total pheromone blend in rubber septa, polyvials, or microtubules. Rubber septa dispensers that contained the four-component pheromone blend (2 mg) remained highly attractive to male FAW for up to 2 weeks in the field. The Hartstack 75–50 cm screenwire cone trap and the International Pheromones (IP) moth trap were both effective tools for capturing large numbers of FAW males. The IP moth trap baited with the four-component pheromone blend (2 mg) on rubber septa dispensers has been used to capture FAW moths over a wide geographic area ranging from French Guiana to Canada, thus demonstrating the usefulness of this combination for survey purposes. A two-component pheromone blend consisting (percentage by weight) of 0.58% Z7-12: AC and 99.42% Z9-14: AC on rubber septa dispensers (2 mg total blend) also was highly effective as a lure for FAW males. Although it was not tested over the same range as the four-component blend, data presented here and elsewhere suggest that the two-component blend could be substituted for the four-component pheromone blend for survey purposes.