Numbers of Bollworms, Tobacco Budworms, and Cotton Leafworms Caught in Traps Equipped with Fluorescent Lamps of Five Colors123

Abstract

In field survey experiments in southern Texas and on the isle of St. Croix, V.I., most bollworms, Heliothis zea (Boddie), native or laboratory-reared, preferred traps equipped with BL lamps over traps equipped with green, gold, pink, or white fluorescent lamps. Most native tobacco budworms, H. virescens (F.), and cotton leafworms, Alabama argillacea (Hubner), were attracted to green lamps, but on St. Croix, catches of laboratory-reared tobacco budworms (but not native tobacco budworms) in BL traps were about twice as high as those in traps with green lamps. Catches of nuisance species (large beetles that mutilate light trap collections) were substantially reduced in traps with green lamps, thus identification of economically important lepidopteran species was more reliable. Green lamps may be recommended for survey of low density populations of native tobacco budworms and cotton leafworms, but BL is recommended for survey of bollworms.