Multispecies trapping ofHelicoverpa (Heliothis) zea, Spodoptera frugiperda, Pseudaletia unipuncta, andAgrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

Multispecies sex pheromone trapping (trapping of more than one species in the same trap) for the bollworm,Helicoverpa (Heliothis) zea (Boddie); fall armyworm,Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith); armyworm,Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth); and the black cutworm,Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel) was evaluated. Baiting of individual traps with all possible combinations of the four species taken two at a time caused a reduction in the catches of at least one of any two species involved when compared to traps baited for only one species. These results demonstrated the species specificity of sex pheromones identified for these species. Although the effects were reduced in some cases, the interaction between species also was observed when adjacent traps were baited with the sex pheromone dispensers of the different species. These results indicate that the spacing between pheromone traps when more than one species are being trapped at the same site affects trap capture and should be evaluated further.