Chemical Lures Research Articles

Bivariate Binary Data with Missing Values: Analysis of a Field Experiment to Investigate Chemical Attractants of Wild Dogs

This article considers design of a field experiment to investigate the effectiveness of various chemical lures or attractants for dingoes, Canis lupus dingo, Australia's native wild dog, and the subsequent analysis of the resulting data. Chemicals were located 50 meters (m) apart at each of 135 sites equally spaced at 500m apart along an approximate straight path about 70 kilometers (km) long, a so-called transect design. Successful attraction to the chemicals was noted each day for seven days. Analysis of the resulting bivariate binary data (successful or not) are carried out to obtain estimates of the effectiveness of the chemicals. Where there was no response at a site this could either have been due to failure of the chemical to attract a dingo, which was present, or absence of the dingo from the site. In order to analyze the resulting data, a model conditioning on dingo presence/absence and hypothesizing a distribution for dingo presence/absence is introduced and estimates of the attractiveness of chemicals (defined as a probability) are obtained using an EM algorithm. Standard errors of estimates are obtained using both asymptotic approximations and a bootstrap for dependent data. An analysis that conditions on observing at least one chemical at a site being visited by a dingo is investigated and estimates obtained. An investigation is made of the information lost by the conditional analysis. Both empirical and theoretical results infer precision is gained by considering the unconditional analyses.

Chemical Attractants for Trapping Yellowjackets Vespula germanica and Vespula pensylvanica (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Worker yellowjackets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) were captured in traps baited with combinations of an aqueous solution of acetic acid and polyethylene caps loaded with either butyl butyrate, heptyl butyrate, or isobutanol. Vespula germanica (F.) were captured in large numbers in traps baited with acetic acid and isobutanol or acetic acid and butyl butyrate. Vespula pensylvanica (Saussure) were captured in large numbers in traps baited with heptyl butyrate, acetic acid and heptyl butyrate, acetic acid and butyl butyrate, and acetic acid and isobutanol. Acetic acid generally enhanced the attractiveness of these other compounds to V. pensylvanica and V. germanica . Vespula atropilosa (Sladen) were captured in large numbers in traps baited with heptyl butyrate or acetic acid and heptyl butyrate, with no apparent effect of the addition of acetic acid to the trap, and they were only weakly attracted to other baits. The importance of acetic acid to attraction of V. germanica and V. pensylvanica to these lures supports the hypothesis that this response is food-finding behavior. The chemical lure comprised of acetic acid and isobutanol can be used for trapping the worldwide pest V. germanica , with the added advantage of simultaneous attractiveness to V. pensylvanica .

Visual Cue and Chemical Cue Interactions in a Dry Trap with Food–Based Synthetic Attractant for Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Several modifications of a plastic dry trap baited with synthetic lures (ammonium acetate and putrescine) were field tested in Guatemala for capture of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew). The cylindrical plastic dry trap has 3 holes for release of internally placed chemical lure as well as for insect access into the trap, and a painted band that provides a visual cue. Fruit flies entering the trap move to internally placed toxicant–sugar panels, causing insect death after they feed. Visual cue modifications in traps painted green or orange included comparisons between shiny or dull trap exteriors and among a range of widths of the painted band on the trap body (3–15 cm wide). Chemical cue modifications included 3 versus 6 access holes in the body of the cylindrical dry trap and tests of 2 doses of a new putrescine formulation. The greatest amount of discrimination among the tested modifications was demonstrated by female C. capitata . The highest capture of female C. capitata was in green 3–hole traps with dull exteriors and with visual cues 12–15 cm wide. Variation in the width of the visual cue and in the number of access holes had less effect on capture of male C. capitata than on females, but capture of males was the lowest in orange traps with shiny exteriors. Capture of female A. ludens was relatively unaffected by the modifications tested, although highest capture was obtained with the green visual cue of 3–7.5 em and the orange visual cue of 7.5–12 cm. Male A. ludens response was similar to that observed in females, although the capture of males among the modifications tested was more variable. There were interactions between visual cues associated with the trap body and the dose of putrescine, thus optimal dose of putrescine may vary with visual cue used in the trap design. Results from this study indicate that modifications in the plastic dry trap can be used to improve the capture of female C. capitata and to develop more cost–effective dry traps for field use against pest Tephritidae.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHORISTONEURA SPECIES (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE) FEEDING ON ABIES, PICEA, AND PSEUDOTSUGA IN WESTERN CANADA AND ALASKA

AbstractMale moths of Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, C. biennis Freeman, C. fumiferana (Clemens), and C. orae Freeman were caught in pheromone-baited traps. Ten traps were placed at each site, five baited with an aldehyde lure and five with an acetate lure. This procedure permitted separation of species based on the specific chemical lure and also provided specimens for further study of morphological and isozyme differences. The color of the forewings, presence or absence of spicules on the aedeagus, and a specific allozyme frequency were determined on selected specimens where these characteristics were useful in separating species at a particular site. Distributions of all species were more extensive than previously known, sometimes adding hundreds of kilometres to the recorded range. Areas of sympatry were identified and the fidelity and usefulness of characteristics for separating species in areas of overlap were discussed.

Comparison of seasonal responses ofHylobius abietis (L.) (Col., Curculionidae) to chemical and natural lures in baited pitfall traps

Differences in catches ofHylobius abietis (L.) adults in baited pitfall traps with chemical (alpha-pinene, ethanol, water) and natural (spruce billets, water) lures were found not in the over-all number of trapped adult weevils, but in the per cent occurrence and number of old and young beetles in individual periods of the season.

Attraction of scarab beetle populations (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to Japanese beetle lures in the Republic of Korea

Collections of scarab beetles using chemical lures in Korea consisted of 21 species. The species collected in the greatest numbers were Anomala corpulenta Motschulsky, Anomala sp., Holotrichia morosa Waterhouse, Popillia uchidai Niijimi et Kinoshita and P. indigonacea Motschulsky. Population density and activity varied according to location, with earlier emergence on the southern island of Cheju-do. P. japonica Newman were not captured in Korea even though dense populations are common in Japan and previous publications indicated its presence. However, males of a closely related species, P. uchidai, were present in high numbers throughout the country. These responded to Japanese beetle sex lures and combinations of floral lures, phenethyl propionate and eugenol and geraniol (PEG), much as P. japonica is known to do, but P. uchidai did not respond to PEG, and unlike P. japonica no female response was observed. Anomala corpulenta and Anomala sp. males were attracted to P. japonica sex lures in great numbers. This is the first report of this type of response by beetles outside the genus Popillia to this lure.

Microsite and Interspecific Interactions Affecting Emergence of Root-Infesting Pine Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Wisconsin

The seasonal emergence patterns of three root-infesting weevils of pine trees in Wisconsin were determined. Emergence periods were distinctly separated in the following sequence: Hylobius radicis Buchanan, Hylobius pales (Herbst), Pachylobius picivorus (Germar). The sex ratio for each weevil was 1:1, but the distribution of emerging adults per tree varied with species. Usually only one H. radicis emerged per tree, whereas the distribution of H. pales was much more clustered. Brood production within a site was directly related to elevation along a slope. This was probably caused by differential exposure to flooding. All three species can breed and develop successfully in the same tree concurrently, and there was no evidence of competition between the primary H. radicis and the secondary species. Co-occurrence generally facilitated development of the various species, suggesting that moderate-sized trees killed by H. radicis may provide a reservoir for development by H. pales and P. picivorus , which could then damage seedlings by adult feeding. Experiments with chemical lures confirm that only overwintered pine root weevils respond to olfactory cues in Wisconsin.

Meat Extracts Attractive to Scavenger Vespula in Eastern North America (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

A horsemeat-based carnivore food, Nebraska Brands Feline Food (NBFF), was found to be much more attractive to workers of Vespula germanica (F.) and V. maculifrons (Buysson)than several meat-based pet foods currently used in toxic bait abatement programs. Solvent extracts made from NBFF were also strongly attractive, with the ethanol fraction being the most attractive. The combined extract fractions of NBFF were as attractive as whole NBFF. Performance of relatively unattractive meat products was enhanced after addition of various extract fractions made from NBFF. Possible applications of extract fractions as alternatives to chemical lures, i.e., heptyl butyrate, are discussed as they relate to yellow jacket abatement.

A Sex Attractant for Male Moths of the Glassy Cutworm Crymodes devastator (Brace): 1 a Mixture of Z -11-Hexadecen-1-yl Acetate, Z -11-Hexadecenal and Z -7-Dodecen-1-yl Acetate 2

Adult males of the glassy cutworm, Crymodes devastator (Brace), were attracted to traps baited with equal-part mixtures of Z -11-hexadecen-1-yl acetate, Z -11-hexadecenal and Z -7-dodecen-1-yl acetate. Other species were not attracted to this ternary sex attractant. Electroantennogram measurements revealed strong male antennal stimulations by each of the 3 components. Attractancy in the field was completely inhibited by the incorporation of small quantities of either Z -11-hexadecen-1-ol or Z -9-tetradecen-1-yl acetate in the chemical lures.

Trapping Yellowjackets with a New Standard Plastic Wet Trap1

A new standard plastic wet trap was used to collect and preserve various species of yellowjackets attracted to synthetic chemical lure. The trap was used to monitor seasonal differences in the activity of yellowjackets in 4 southern and central California localities. Responsive sympatric yellowjacket species were readily detected, even when some species represented less than 1% of the yellowjackets present. Although more than 0.5 million Vespula pensylvanica (Saussure) were trapped in 3 localized sites, there was no apparent reduction in the intensity of yellowjacket scavenging activity in the trapped areas during the time when traps were exposed.

Japanese Beetles: Shielded Traps to Increase Captures12

Gonnewardene et al. (1970) and Ladd (1970) demonstrated the presence of a sex attractant in the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, by placing females in the bait wells of Ellisco® Japanese beetle traps and recording the numbers captured. Other observations by personnel of the Japanese Beetle and European Chafer Investigations Laboratory, formerly at Moorestown, N. J., revealed that traps baited with chemical lures captured virgin females and that these captured females lured many beetles to the outside of the top of the collection canister (Fig. 1). We conducted the present test to determine whether elimination of the landing sites by shielding the base of the capture funnel, the canister, or both, would increase captures of beetles.

The Role of Chemicals in the General Insect Control Picture

When reference is made to chemical control of insects, we tend to think only of conventional insecticides. However, even with the alternate methods of controlling insects now used or being investigated, chemicals are likely to be involved in one way or another. For example, scientists engaged in research into the nature and cause of the resistance in plants to insects are finding that in some instances, at least, chemical substances deter insect attack or retard insect development (Beck and Stauffer 1957, Klun et al. 1967) ; thus research in this field may eventually provide valuable clues for the development of new types of insecticides. Even control of insects with pathogens may prove to be the result in part of the action of a chemical substance since Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner the only insect pathogen registered for use on crops, contains a chemical component that produces insecticidal action (Heimpel 1967). In addition, chemicals are involved in the sex attraction of many insects (Butenandt and Hecker 1961, Roller et at. 1966, Sekul and Cox 1965, Jones et al. 1966, Berger 1966, Jacobson 1965). Definite chemical substances are responsible for the attraction or the feeding responses of insects to certain host plants, and synthetic chemical lures are proving useful for the detection and control of a number of insects. Also, the interesting and important findings on insect hormones, a field receiving more and more attention in research programs, have to do with the discovery of the chemicals that regulate the development and behavior of insects. And, finally, the use of sterilization to control insects may require chemicals that produce sterility in the natural population or sterilize insects for release. Thus, though conventional chemical insecticides now play the most prominent role in the control of insects, other types of chemical agents will also probably be used in some of the most promising alternative methods of control.

Population suppression in the Queensland fruit fly, Dacus (Strumeta) Tryoni. II. Experiments on isolated populations in Western New South Wales

This is the second paper in a series describing experiments designed to investigate the potential usefulness of chemical lures for the suppression of isolated populations of the Queensland fruit fly. The experiments reported here were done in two consecutive years and involved 12 country towns in central and north-central New South Wales. Three of the towns were treated with a male-attractant plus an insecticide; three were treated with a general lure plus an insecticide; three others received a combination of both treatments; and the remaining three were left untreated for comparison. In the first year neither single treatment had any significant effects on the populations, while the double treatment achieved an acceptable level of control. In the second year the performances of both single treatments improved greatly, while the combined treatment gave excellent control. It is shown that isolated populations of fruit fly can be suppressed by these means.The implications of these results for future large-scale control of the Queensland fruit fly are discussed briefly. More complete discussion must await publication of further developments of this work, which will be reported in later papers in this series.