Sticky Plates Research Articles

Blue LED trap and commercial lure improve western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) monitoring in cucumber crops

Blue sticky traps contribute substantially to monitoring the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in greenhouses. Although sticky traps can detect the initial presence of thrips reliably, an estimation of the actual thrips density in the crop by counting number of thrips on the traps is often not accurate. To overcome this issue, we compared blue sticky traps and newly developed sticky LED-enlightened traps in combination with the commercial thrips kairomone Lurem-TR under commercial growing conditions. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in cucumber, Cucumis sativus L. (Cucurbitaceae), crop stands in greenhouse cabins investigating the correlation between thrips caught on (LED) traps and the thrips density in the crop for an accurate and reliable thrips monitoring. Additionally, experiments aiming to understand underlying mechanisms of thrips orientation towards traps in different scenarios were conducted under controlled conditions. Results show that thrips catches on sticky LED enlightened coloured traps correlated strongly positive with number of thrips in the crop, especially at low thrips population densities. Adding Lurem to this trap type further improved accuracy of the correlation in the greenhouse cabin experiment. Moreover, LED traps with and without Lurem were more attractive towards thrips in small follow-up experiments compared to standard blue sticky traps. The results are discussed in the context of general orientation of thrips and its behaviour towards visual and olfactory cues when considering different scenarios. Our study shows the successful integration of blue LEDs into an existing trapping system and underlines the advantages compared with standard sticky plates. In conclusion, sticky LED enlightened coloured traps have a potential as an improved thrips monitoring device that might improve pest management decisions.

Survey of dermestid beetles using UV-light traps in two food industry facilities in the Czech Republic: One year field study

There is a growing interest in stored product Dermestidae species due to their capacity to damage and contaminate stored products of animal and vegetable origin. Limited published information is available on surveys of these pests in museums, grain commodity storage facilities, and mills, with a noticeable absence of surveys in the food industry. Notably, information on dermestid monitoring using a colour or UV light sticky traps, which are required as part of international food safety standards and ISO pest control procedures for food facilities, is lacking. This study represents the first report on dermestid surveys conducted in a beverage and a food packaging facility premises using traps that combine UV light with yellow sticky plates in central Europe. A total of 1031 dermestid beetle individuals were captured in the two facilities during a one-year survey period. During the sampling period, there was a seasonal trend with the maximum captured individuals from spring to early autumn, and no individuals during winter. These population fluctuations followed a similar pattern in the two facilities. In total, 13 species belonging to five genera were identified. The highest cumulative captures were found for Reesa vespulae and Anthrenus verbasci found in both facilities, followed by Trogoderma glabrum, which occurred in high numbers in the food packaging facility. Our data indicate that R. vespulae (an invasive species) is attracted to UV light + yellow traps, and its high frequency and abundance suggest that since its first isolated detection in the Czech Republic in 1987, it has proven to be a significantly spreading pest species.

Cooperative membership and adoption of green pest control practices: Insights from rice farmers

AbstractReducing the use of chemical pesticide while preserving crop yield is a practical strategy that makes agricultural production economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Although the adoption of green pest control practices can help achieve such a goal, its adoption rate remains quite low. This study explores whether membership in agricultural cooperatives improves smallholder farmers' adoption of green pest control practices, utilising farm‐level data surveyed from rice farmers in China. To enrich our understanding, we also investigate how the adoption of green pest control practices mediates the effects of cooperative membership on chemical pesticide expenditures. An endogenous switching probit model and a bootstrap‐based mediation method are employed to achieve these goals. The empirical results show that cooperative membership significantly increases the probability of adopting physical pest control practices (e.g. pest‐killing lamps or sticky plate traps) and biological pest control practices (e.g. biopesticides) by 6% and 19%, respectively. Cooperative membership significantly reduces chemical pesticide expenditures through its mediation effect on improving the probability of adopting biological pest control practices. There is also a complementary relationship between physical and biological pest control practices in pest management of rice production. The adoption of physical pest control practices significantly increases rice yield, while the adoption of biological pest control practices does not.

Dispersal Behavior Characters of Spodoptera frugiperda Larvae

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a major pest of corn worldwide. FAW larval dispersal is an important life strategy that influences FAW population distribution in corn fields and subsequent plant damage. We studied FAW larval dispersal in the laboratory with sticky plates placed around the test plant and a unidirectional airflow source. Crawling and ballooning were the main dispersal means of FAW larvae both within and between corn plants. All larval instars (1st–6th) could disperse by crawling, with crawling being the only dispersal mechanism for 4th–6th instars. By crawling, FAW larvae could reach all aboveground parts of a corn plant as well as adjacent corn plants where leaves overlapped. Ballooning was used primarily by 1st-3rd instar larvae, and the proportion of these larvae that used ballooning decreased with age. Ballooning was largely governed by the larva’s interaction with airflow. Airflow influenced the direction and distance of larval ballooning. With an airflow speed of about 0.05 m/s, 1st instars could travel up to 196 cm from the test plant, indicating that long-distance FAW larval dispersal depends on ballooning. These results increase our understanding of FAW larval dispersal and provide scientific information for the development of FAW monitoring and control strategies.

Towards automatic insect monitoring on witloof chicory fields using sticky plate image analysis

ContextSticky trap catches of agricultural pests can be employed for early hotspot detection, identification, and estimation of pest presence in greenhouses or in the field. However, manual procedures to produce and analyze catch results require substantial time and effort. As a result, much research has gone into creating efficient techniques for remotely monitoring possible infestations. A considerable number of these studies use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze the acquired data and focus on performance metrics for various model architectures. Less emphasis, however, was devoted to the testing of the trained models to investigate how well they would perform under practical, in-field conditions. ObjectiveIn this study, we showcase an automatic and reliable computational method for monitoring insects in witloof chicory fields, while shifting the focus to the challenges of compiling and using a realistic insect image dataset that contains insects with common taxonomy levels. MethodsTo achieve this, we collected, imaged, and annotated 731 sticky plates - containing 74,616 bounding boxes - to train a YOLOv5 object detection model, concentrating on two pest insects (chicory leaf-miners and wooly aphids) and their two predatory counterparts (ichneumon wasps and grass flies). To better understand the object detection model's actual field performance, it was validated in a practical manner by splitting our image data on the sticky plate level. Results and conclusionsAccording to experimental findings, the average mAP score for all dataset classes was 0.76. For both pest species and their corresponding predators, high mAP values of 0.73 and 0.86 were obtained. Additionally, the model accurately forecasted the presence of pests when presented with unseen sticky plate images from the test set. SignificanceThe findings of this research clarify the feasibility of AI-powered pest monitoring in the field for real-world applications and provide opportunities for implementing pest monitoring in witloof chicory fields with minimal human intervention.

ASPECTS REGARDING MONITORING OF THE PEST TUTA ABSOLUTA (TOMATO LEAFMINER) ON TOMATO CROPS UNDER HIGH PLASTIC TUNNELS AND EFFICACY OF SOME INSECTICIDES TESTED FORITSCONTROL

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a pest native from South America, which was first reported in Romania in 2009 (Satu Mare). Among the vegetable species, tomatoes are the main host of the pest, but can also be found on potato, black nightshade (Solanumnigrum), eggplant, bell peppers and tobacco.Yield losses caused by Tuta absoluta can reach 100%, in the absence of adequate control measures.Pheromone traps are a complementary method of this pest control, contributing considerably to reducing its population. The experiments were done in 2020, in the area of influence of R.I.V.F.G. - Vidra, in the first cycle of crop, using the hybrids Sahmat F1 and Zadurella F1.The Delta traps with pheromone were placed in 2 high plastic tunnels with tomatoes, from 2 different locations (Dobreni and Vărăști) and the number of captured adults and the frequency and intensity of the attack on foliage and fruits were periodically recorded, between May and July.The number of captured adults on the sticky plate which have 397,75 cm2 , ranged in time, between 52 and 482. Chemical treatments were also applied, at 7 daysintervals, to prevent the spread of the pest and limit the damage caused by it. The average yields obtained were between 6.950 kg/m2 (farmer 1, Dobreni) and 8.270 kg/m2 (farmer 2, Vărăști).

Visually and olfactorily enhanced attractive devices for thrips management.

‘Lure‐and‐infect’ is an insect pest management strategy with high potential but so far there are few examples of its application. Using traps as surrogates for auto‐dissemination devices, we tested the attractiveness to naturally occurring thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of three trap types differing in colour and structure, with and without the thrips lure methyl isonicotinate (MI), and sticky plate traps as a control. The aim was to find more effective traps that could be further developed into devices for auto‐dissemination and lure‐and‐infect of thrips. The number of thrips captured varied substantially with trap type and the presence of the MI lure. We found a high visual response to a sticky ‘white ruffle’ trap (i.e., a 30‐cm‐long cylindrical outline of folded fabric), compared to a commonly used blue sticky plate trap (Bug‐scan) as the control. This effect was seen both in a greenhouse with roses (Rosa spp.), where we encountered western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), and in a grass field, where we encountered onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, and New Zealand flower thrips, Thrips obscuratus (Crawford). In the absence of MI, the white ruffle trap caught 7–22× more thrips than the control Bug‐scan trap. A similarly designed blue ruffle trap and a modified Lynfield trap caught lower thrips numbers than the white ruffle and the control Bug‐scan traps. Presence of MI substantially increased the captures of T. tabaci in all three trap types in the field (2.5–18×). In the greenhouse, without MI the white ruffle trap caught 3.5–14× more thrips than the Bug‐scan, blue ruffle, or modified Lynfield traps. Presence of MI increased the captures of F. occidentalis males and females in the Lynfield and blue ruffle traps (1.4–2.8×), but not in the white ruffle trap in the greenhouse (ca. 1.1×). The importance of visual and olfactory factors for the design of effective auto‐dissemination and lure‐and‐infect strategies for thrips management is discussed.

Monitoring and population characteristics of Prays oleae (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) on different insecticidal treatments

The presence of olive moth (Prays oleae Bern.) and effectiveness of different control treatment against it has been conducted on 160 olive trees of Leccino variety in Istria, Croatia. The treatments were: dimethoate, Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Bt), pyrethrins, consociation of olive and planted pyrethrum and control. Olive moth has been monitored weekly using pheromone-baited delta traps and different coloured sticky plates in 12 and eight monitoring. Moth's life stages (non-destroyed, destroyed eggs and larvae) has been counted in seven monitoring. The predator activity has been determined as the ratio of destroyed eggs in the total number of observed eggs on 50 randomly chosen samples of flowers and fruits. On pheromone traps, the maximum catch has been determined on May 15th on control, when maximum of moth's flight on control, dimethoate and pyrethrins treatments coincided in time. There were more adults detected on pheromone traps then on sticky traps (16.8 times over). With time, moth's first preference was red and then blue sticky plates. The highest number of eggs ( non-destroyed and destroyed) has been found on dimethoate on May 15th ( 2.8 ± 1.1 and 4.5 ± 1.6) and June 18th ( 0.8 ± 0.5) as a consequence of accidental high oviposition rate at dimethoate plots before treatment applications. The highest number of larvae were detected on control on July 2nd ( 2.0 ± 0.7)

Parallel declines in abundance of insects and insectivorous birds in Denmark over 22years.

Farmers in most western countries have increased use of fertilizer and pesticides with impact on wild animals and plants, including the abundance of insects and their predators.I used 1,375 surveys of insects killed on car windscreens as a measure of insect abundance during 1997–2017 at two transects in Denmark. I cross‐validated this method against three other methods for sampling insect abundance, and I investigated the effects of this measure of insect abundance on the abundance of breeding insectivorous birds.The abundance of flying insects was quantified using a windscreen resulting in reductions of 80% and 97% at two transects of 1.2 km and 25 km, respectively, according to general additive mixed model. Insect abundance increased with time of day, temperature, and June date, but decreased with wind resulting in a reduction by 54%. The abundance of insects killed on a car windscreen was strongly positively correlated with the abundance of insects caught in sweep nets and on sticky plates in the same study areas and at the same time as when insects were sampled using windscreens. The decline in abundance of insects on windscreens predicted the rate at which barn swallows Hirundo rustica fed their nestlings, even when controlling statistically for time of day, weather, and age and number of nestlings. The abundance of breeding pairs of three species of aerially insectivorous birds was positively correlated with the abundance of insects killed on windscreens at the same time in the same study area. This suggests a link between two trophic levels as affected by the temporal reduction in the abundance of flying insects.These findings are consistent with recent dramatic declines in insect abundance in Europe and North America with consequences for the rate of food provisioning of barn swallow offspring, the abundance of aerially insectivorous birds and bottom‐up trophic cascades.

BIODIVERSITY AND DIET OF COCCINELLIDAE ON CITRUS IN METIDJA (ALGERIA)

Biological control is a viable alternative to the use of chemical pesticides that are harmful to the environment. From this perspective, this work aims to make an inventory of Coccinellidae and to classify them according to their diet. Sampling by yellow sticky plates is carried out each week from 23 April to 24 July 2014 at the Eastern Metidja very important citrus region in Algeria. A total of 16 ladybug species are sampled in four citrus species, orange, lemon, clementine and pomelo. It is the Coccidiphagous that are the richest with a total of 7 species, followed by the aphidophagous with 5 species and mycophagous with the two species. Finally found the aleurodiphagous and acariphagous, with a single species for each group. With regard to relative abundance, a total of 467 individuals coccinellidae were captured, of which the species Clitostethus arcuatus (ladybug aleurodiphagous) alone counted 285 individuals, that is 61.29%.

CONTRIBUTION OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN HORTICULTURE

This paper reviews new developments in high-tech horticulture. It will focus on sensors, energy solutions, covering materials, production technology and robotics. Driving forces for new technologies are identified and Dutch crop production is used as an example. Sensors are introduced in horticulture using the latest techniques from medical and industrial research. A 3D volumetric intersection technique is used to sort tomato seedlings at a speed of 40.000 pieces per hour and measures the full 3D geometric features, which is clearly an impossible challenge when done manually. Other 3D techniques like stereo vision, time of flight and laser triangulation are introduced in horticulture to control robots, measure the geometric quality features as flower diameter and bulb orientation or to separate target features from its agricultural surroundings (e.g., Anthurium, chicory, lily bulbs). But also the interest to measure internal quality features as ripeness, food compounds, internal defects and the ability of photosynthesis capacity can be measured by spectral cameras, fluorescence techniques and X-ray. First applications in research and production are being introduced (e.g., rose, Alstroemeria, tulip, tomato or cucumber). To apply integrated management on pests and diseases in the greenhouse, sensors are needed to determine pests and diseases and its magnitude automatically at an early stage (e.g., long horn beetle, botrytis, sticky plates). More future sensor applications are expected in this field. New developments in energy solutions in greenhouses will lead to more profitable options in crop production. Energy saving in horticulture has been the subject of research for more than 20 years in a special program greenhouse as energy financed by the Dutch ministry of agriculture and growers. The result is that Horticultural industry in The Netherlands consumes now 50% less energy compared to 1990 due to all energy saving measures. Various technologies developed are now common practice in greenhouses like the application of thermal screens and temperature integration. More recent developments in humidity control have been adopted further decreasing energy consumption and thereby even increasing production quality and quantity. Alternative energy sources like geothermal heat are being used by some growers allowing fossil-fuel free vegetable production. More futuristic concepts where electricity and heat are produced in combination with production are still in the experimental phase. When all new developments lead to products with excellent quality in the right amount, price and ready just in time, products need to be harvested with a predictable capacity and reliability. Progress is made on robotic harvesting of fruits, flowers and vegetables. First robots that are tested in practice on a 24/7 base (cutrose, strawberry, kiwi) have shown to be very close to market introduction. Progress is made and big efforts by several consortia are put in actual developments to harvest tomato leaves, cucumbers and sweet peppers. Self-learning algorithms, open source robotic software and generic mechatronic solutions are available and adaptive to new tasks and products and will enable fast future robot solutions after first successful introductions.

Non‐host plant essential oil volatiles with potential for a ‘push‐pull’ strategy to control the tea green leafhopper, Empoasca vitis

AbstractThe tea green leafhopper, Empoasca vitis Göthe (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is an economically important pest of tea crops, Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze (Theaceae), in China. The use of non‐host plant essential oils for manipulation of E. vitis was investigated for potential incorporation into a ‘push‐pull’ control strategy for this pest. The effectiveness of 14 plant essential oils in repelling E. vitis was investigated in laboratory assays. Rosemary oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, cinnamon oil, and basil oil repelled leafhoppers in a Y‐shaped olfactometer. We also compared the efficacy of these five plant essential oils to repel E. vitis in the presence of a host plant volatile‐based leafhopper attractant, (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate, in a tea plantation. In the treatment combination, four plates (north, south, east, and west) treated with an essential oil surrounded a central sticky plate treated with (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate. Fewer E. vitis were found on the plates treated with rosemary oil (12.5% reduction) than on the four water‐sprayed control treatment plates surrounding a central plate with (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate. We compared the distribution of E. vitis on the plates, and the relative numbers of E. vitis on each plate were compared with similar plates in the control treatment. When four plates treated with rosemary oil surrounded a central (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate‐treated plate, the distribution of E. vitis on the different plates changed significantly compared with that of the control. Relatively fewer E. vitis were found on the east (13.0% reduction) rosemary oil‐treated plates and more E. vitis (11.3% increase) were found on the central attractant‐treated plate. Our findings indicate that rosemary oil is a promising leafhopper repellent that should be tested further in a ‘push‐pull’ strategy for control of E. vitis.

Lactose Caking: Influence of the Particle Size Distribution and the Water Content

Industrially, after the crystallisation of lactose from mother liquor, the crystals are separated by centrifugation and then dried in a flash drier followed by a fluid bed drier. It is known that if the moisture content and/or particle size is not correct then lumping and caking of the lactose can occur in the flash drier causing operational problems.The aim of this study was to characterize the influence of water content and particle size distribution on the caking of lactose powders.Powders with different d50's and different water contents had their caking/clumping characteristics analyzed with a texture analyzer, a sticky plate and a blow tester to determine their cohesion. A theoretical approach looking at the capillary interactions of the liquid bridges between lactose crystals was taken from the literature to explain the results obtained.The results showed that lactose powder with a low d50 can cake easily as soon as the water content is higher than 3%. This cohesion between lactose crystals is due to liquid bridges linking them together. The number of bridges formed affects the level of cohesion: the more numerous they are, the more cohesive the lactose crystals are. Therefore, small particles cake more easily because the number of bridges in a given volume is higher than for bigger particles.It was predicted that the capillary force cannot hold together particles with d50 bigger than 400μm and that was confirmed by experiment.Finally, in order to prevent the caking of lactose powders obtained by processes such as a decanter centrifuge, the lactose crystallization step should be controlled to obtain large crystal (with d50>300μm) and/or the final water content should not be higher than 3%.

The Capturing of the Apple Blossom Beetle, Tropinota hirta (Poda) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), by Different Traps in Afyonkarahisar

This study was conducted to determine the most effective traps for capturing Tropinota hirta (Poda) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) being an economical pest on the flowers of apple trees in Sultandagi county of Afyonkarahisar province in 2010. Blue plastic traps of in the same color (Sticky plate trap, funnel plus water and large bowl plus water) and also an attractant containing cinnamyl alcohol and trans-anethol, as a commercial preparation were used in the present study. Four different selected sites were investigated to find the most attractive traps for the mentioned pest. The highest number of captives was achieved in the first (43.60% of total) and third (33.13% of total) location sites. They were found in the locations second and the fourth as 14.53% and 8.72%, respectively. Most of the adults were captured by the blue funnel plus water traps with the attractants. We assume that the number of apple blossom beetles captured in apple orchards depends upon the age of the trees and whether they are near uncultivated or grain growing areas. In conclusion, we propose that the use of a blue funnel in a cup containing water, and also with an attractant, is an effective biotechnical method for controll ing pest existing on apple trees when chemicals cannot be applied during the blooming period.

Insect reactions to light and its applications to pest management

Insects are able to see ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Nocturnal insects are often attracted to light sources that emit large amounts of UV radiation, and devices that exploit this behavior, such as light traps for forecasting pest outbreaks, and electric insect killers, have been developed. Some diurnal species are attracted to yellow; yellow pan traps are used for conducting surveys for pest outbreaks and yellow sticky plates are used for pest control. Lamps that give off yellow illumination have been used effectively to control the activity of nocturnal moths and thus reduce damage to fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Covering cultivation facilities with film that filters out near-UV radiation reduces the invasion of pests such as whiteflies and thrips into the facilities, thus reducing damage. Reflective material placed on cultivated land can control the approach of flying insects such as aphids. Future development and use of new light sources such as light-emitting diodes is anticipated for promoting integrated pest management.

Evaluation of the efficacy of different traps in capturing apple blossom beetle (Epicometis hirta (Poda, 1761)) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Bu calisma, erik ve armut agaclarindaki Bakla zinni (Epicometis hirta) (Poda, 1761) (Coleoptera: Scarabaediae)’nin farkli tuzaklarla yakalanma etkinliginin arastirilmasi amaci ile Isparta Ili, Yalvac Ilcesi’nde 2010 yilinda yurutulmustur. Calismalar toplam 4’er adet erik ve armut bahcesinde, farkli mavi plastik tuzaklar (yapiskan levha, huni+su ve legen+su) ve ayrica cinnamyl alcohol, trans - anethol, dipropylene glycol ve 2 - propanol, 1, 1 – oxybis maddelerini iceren ticari preparatlar kullanilarak yurutulmustur. En fazla ergin armutlarda 3 no’lu, eriklerde ise 2 no’lu bahceden elde edilmistir. Adi gecen bahcelerin her ikisinde de en fazla ergin “cekici+mavi huni+su” kullanilan tuzaklarla yakalanmistir. Calisma sonuclari, mavi huni tuzaklarinin cekici ile birlikte kullanilmasi durumunda, insektisitlerin uygulanmasinin sakincali oldugu ciceklenme doneminde bu bocegi baski altina almada etkili bir biyoteknik yontem olarak kullanilabilecegini gostermektedir.

秋末苏南茶园昆虫的群落组成及其趋色性

There are many top-quality,prestigious teas cultivated and processed in the Southern Jiangshu Province,China;however,serious damages to tea plants caused by various pests occur frequently in the region.In order to better understand the insect community structures and their phototaxis,we tested 12 colors(pure white,peach red,dark green,apple green,lake blue,sky blue,jasmine yellow,bud green,earth yellow,orange,bright red and purple) of sticky plates in a non-pollution tea plantation at Danyang City during late fall in 2012.The trapping results showed that: 1) within the 4 days trapping period,in total of 30455 individuals of 85 insect species belonged to 7 orders were caught,with Homoptera(86.5% of total individuals) being the most dominant order group,followed by Hymenoptera(8.8%) and Diptera(2.5%);2) the tea aphid and the tea green leafhopper were the two most dominant pest insect species,accounting for 71.5% and 15% of the total individuals,respectively;3) the Chinese honey bees were the major beneficial insects captured,accounting for 8.2% of the total individuals;4) in addition,a total of 1034 individuals of other beneficial insects(natural enemies) were caught,including 582 green lacewings(e.g.Chrysopa sinica Tjedea,Chrysopa septempunctata Wesmeal and Chrysopa formosa Branar),111 tachinids(Exorista civilis Rondani,Crossocosmia zebina Walk,Exorista sorbillans Wiedemann,plus three other species),110 hoverflies(Sphaerophoria menthastri L.,Syrphus balteatus De Geer,Syrphus corolla F.,Paraqus guadifasciatus Meigen,Syrphus serarius Wiedemann,Leucopis puncticornis Meigen plus two other species),97 braconids with Apanteles spp.being the dominant species,40 ichneumons(Itoplectis naranyae(Ashmead),Gotra octocinctus(Ashmead) and other three species) and 32 ladybeetles with Leis axyridis(Pallas) and Coelophora saucia Mulsant being the major species.5) Bud green,jasmine yellow and orange sticky plates captured significantly higher numbers of the tea green leafhoppers and the tea aphids;bud green and jasmine yellow sticky plates were also strongly attractive to ichneumons and braconids;bud green,earth yellow and apple green sticky plates attracted lacewings;apple green,sky blue and purple sticky plates trapped many flies and mosquitoes.The numbers of insect species captured were highest on the Jasmine yellow sticky plates,whereas the highest diversity index of various groups of trapped insects was detected on the pure white plates,indicating its broad generic attraction to diverse groups of insects.In late fall,knowing the species richness and the abundance of overwintering pest and beneficial insects,the beneficial/pest ratios,and the dominant pest and beneficial insect species and their population levels,as well as their differential phototaxis behaviors would help tea farmers better preparing and executing their environmentally safe pest control measures for efficiently reducing overwintering pest population density,before the field season is over.

フェロモントラップの開口部の広さとアカヒゲホソミドリカスミカメ誘殺数との関係

The SE trap® is considered unsuitable for monitoring the rice leaf bug, Trigonotylus caelestialium, because of its low capture efficiency. One of the reasons for this low efficiency is that the opening size of this trap is assumed to be too small for the males to reach the sticky plate. We therefore improved the SE trap to widen the openings. Specifically, a pillar was placed at each corner between the roof and the bottom plate, and the entrance area was varied through the length of the pillar (i.e., 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm). In paddy fields, the average number of males captured per trap increased with the length of the pillar. The average number of males captured in traps with pillars 10 cm or 15 cm long was not significantly different from with a vertical sticky trap, which is generally used as a pheromone trap for this bug. The results suggest that these improved traps may be a useful alternative to the vertical sticky trap.

The Abundance and Dynamics of Lepidoptera Pests from Maize, Soybean, Sugar Beet Crops, In Conditions Of Agricultural Research And Development Station Turda

This paper presents experimental data conducted for this purpose, during 2009 – 2010 in ARDS Turda. Species of Lepidoptera present in field crops, studied in ARDS Turda are: Agrotis segetum (Den. & Schiff.), Autographa gamma L., Amathes c-nigrum L., Mamestra brassicae L., Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn., Plutella xylostella L.. 
 The research were performed at ARDS Turda, during 2009 - 2010 in crops: maize, sugar beet and soybean; were used F1 traps type) with synthetic sex pheromones of the Romanian Institute of Chemistry Cluj - Napoca. Traps were placed in 3 repetitions, at the 50 m distance between, during June-September. The adhesive used was based on polyisobutylene, produced by the same institute. Pheromones baits and sticky plates were changed at 10 days, when were recorded the number of captured Lepidoptera. To compare data obtained, was performed percentage distribution of species of Lepidoptera, and observations on the abundance of Lepidoptera pests, highlighting the appeal and sex pheromones specific for the most common Lepidoptera.
 At ARDS Turda, in maize, sugar beet and soybean, under normal climate of the years 2009- 2010, were registered, in sex pheromones traps, more than 1.400 adults of the mentioned Lepidoptera species. These species showed a well defined allocation percentage as follows: Ostrina nubilalis represented a very significant percentage between 39.0 - 68.0% of the total of Lepidoptera pests, Autographa gamma 12,0-25,0%, Amathes c-nigrum 14,0-16,0% and other species (Mamestra brassicae, Plutella Xylostella, Agrotis segetum) between 2,0-11,0%.
 The results have resulted in flight curves of the most common Lepidoptera pest crops, which shows the evolution of species according to specific climatic conditions, thus knowing the best time for applying treatments.

Vine mealybug sex pheromone increases citrus mealybug parasitism by Anagyrus sp. near pseudococci (Girault)

The present study was aimed at elucidating the role of lavandulyl senecioate (LS), the sex pheromone of Planococcus ficus, in host selection of the parasitoid Anagyrus sp. near pseudococci. Field trials were carried out in Portugal, Italy and Israel. The effect of LS on the parasitism rate of the wasp was determined by exposing sentinel mealybugs combined with pheromone dispensers impregnated with LS, in comparison with other baits: lavandulyl isovalerate (LI); planococcyl acetate (PAc); and unbaited control traps. In addition, in order to study the host location behavior of A. sp. near pseudococci, pheromone dispensers were placed at three different distances: inside the trap, 30 or 60 cm away from the trap. The number of parasitoid females inside the traps, the number of parasitized mealybugs, and the number of days required for the first parasitoid emergence were recorded. The response of A. sp. near pseudococci females to different doses of LS (25–1350 μg) was also evaluated using sticky plate traps. The rate of mealybug parasitism by A. sp. near pseudococci was significantly increased by LS in the three parasitoid populations. PAc and LI had no significant effect on the wasp parasitism rate in most of the trials. However, the Italian population of the parasitoid responded to PAc, showing apparently a different behavioral pattern. The number of parasitoid females trapped did not significantly differ between tested doses of LS. The use of LS as an arrestant in host location by the A. sp. near pseudococci female is discussed.