Seasonal Flight Patterns of Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Monitored with Pear Ester and Codlemone-baited Traps in Sex Pheromone-Treated Apple Orchards

Abstract

Traps baited with ethyl (E, Z)-2, 4-decadienoate (pear ester) or (E, E)-8,10-dodecadienol (codlemone) were used to monitor codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in 102 apple, Malus domestica Borkhausen, orchards. All orchards were treated with 500–1,000 Isomate-C PLUS dispensers/ha during 2000–2002. Traps baited with pear ester caught their first moth significantly later on average than the paired codlemone-baited traps, but timing of peak moth catch during each moth flight coincided with both types of lures. The timing of first male moth capture in pear ester–baited traps was significantly earlier than the first female moth; and the percentage of male moths in the total numbers of moths captured ranged from 55 to 60% over the three seasons. The percentage of female moths caught by pear ester–baited traps that were mated exceeded 80% each year. Pear ester–baited traps caught similar numbers of moths as codlemone-baited traps during 2000. However, the density of sex pheromone dispensers per hectare was increased in most orchards in 2001–2002; and pear ester outperformed codlemone-baited traps in both years.