Sex Pheromone Traps for Monitoring the European Vine Moth,Lobesia botrana: Effect of Dispenser Type, Pheromone Dose, Field Aging of Dispenser, and Type of Trap on Male Captures

Abstract

The effects of dispenser type, pheromone dose in the dispenser, aging of dispenser in the field, and trap type on trapping efficiency of males of the European vine moth,Lobesia botrana Den. et Schiff. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), were investigated. LB Pherocon caps and locally manufactured septa were equally effective in attracting males to traps. Within the range of 0.1 to 100 μg pheromone/dispenser, response of males increased positively with the pheromone dose. Within the first 7 days tested, pheromone loads of 1 or 10 mg/dispenser were significantly less attractive to males than 0.1 mg/dispenser. The effect of aging of the dispenser (loaded with 1 mg pheromone) in the field on trapping efficiency was significant. Captures in traps baited with 4- and 5-week-old septa were significantly lower (by 24%) than those in traps baited with 1-week-old septa. The fairly slow loss of attractancy exhibited by rubber septa indicates that septa may be kept in traps for at least 5 weeks. The release rate of the pheromone from the Israeli dispensers (1 mg loaded) was measured in a flow system. The emission of the pheromone decreased gradually as a function of age, correlating well with the lower trap catches of field-aged septa. Release rates were reduced by 56%, 70% and 84% after 4, 5 and 6 weeks, repectively. The nonsticky IPS trap was as effective in capturing the European vine moth males as the sticky Pherocon 1C trap. The possibility of using the non-sticky, nonsaturating and easy-to-handle IPS traps may lead to better and easier monitoring of the European vine moth populations.