Quantity of food attractant and size of the container orifice affect catch in Carpophilus spp. traps

Abstract

AbstractAttract‐and‐kill traps containing aggregation pheromone and food attractant have been developed in Australia to control Carpophilus spp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in orchards. Two field experiments were conducted in cherry and stone fruit orchards. One aimed to identify an appropriate size of orifice in co‐attractant containers releasing either of two types of food attractants while keeping the amount of attractant fixed. Initial findings suggested that a 6.0 cm orifice was appropriate so another experiment was conducted to identify an appropriate amount of food attractant to be used in traps while keeping the size of orifice fixed at 6.0 cm. In experiment one, orifice sizes of 2.5 cm, 6.0 cm and 9.0 cm were used in traps baited with 120 mL of either fermented apple juice or liquid synthetic food attractant. Traps with a 6.0 cm orifice caught the most Carpophilus spp. followed by 9.0 cm and 2.5 cm but there were no significant differences in catch between the three orifice sizes. In experiment two, traps were baited with 120, 300 and 500 g or mL of either solid artificial beetle‐rearing medium or liquid synthetic food attractant. Traps baited with synthetic solutions caught significantly (P < 0.05) more beetles than traps baited with solid food medium except for the 500 g solid food traps. There were no significant differences in catch between the three amounts of synthetic solution. Traps with 500 g of solid food medium caught significantly (P < 0.05) more beetles than those with 300 g and 120 g.