Microlepidoptera caught in traps baited with lures containing pear ester and acetic acid in Hungary

The present research was undertaken to screen for field activity of ethyl-(E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate (pear ester, PE), acetic acid (AA) and the blend of this two components (PEAA) at locations, where high diversity of microlepidopteran species was presumed. By tendency of relative catches, microlepidopterans captured could be divided into two groups: in the first group the PEAA blend resulted in higher catches than single components (Hedya nubiferana, Ypsolopha scabrella and Notocelia trimaculana), while in the second group (Archips rosana, A. xylosteana, Ptycholoma lecheana and Tortrix viridana) only the presence of AA was responsible for attractivity. In all species, both male and female specimens were caught. This result indicates a potential way to optimise female-targeted lures based on PEAA or AA for all these microlepidopterans that are all recorded as pests. On the other hand, the capture of the above moths in the traps raises the need for some taxonomic knowledge in evaluating captures in PEAA-baited traps currently use in agricultural practice for codling moth monitoring

Improving Bisexual Lures for the Silver Y Moth Autographa gamma L. and Related Plusiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The addition of synthetic eugenol and benzyl acetate to the known floral chemical and moth attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized attraction of the silver Y moth Autographa gamma, an important noctuid pest. Traps baited with the ternary blend caught 2 to 6 times more A. gamma moths than traps baited with phenylac-etaldehyde alone. Both female and male moths were attracted, supposedly in the natural sex ratio of the local population. More A. gamma were caught when the blend was formulated in dispenser types with higher release rates. Traps baited with the ternary lure in polyethylene bag dispensers caught 20% to 34% as many moths as were caught in traps baited with synthetic sex pheromone, suggesting that this improved bisexual lure could be efficient enough to yield a new tool for detection and monitoring of female and male A. gamma, for more reliable plant protection decisions. The same ternary lure also improved trap catches of moths over phenylacetaldehyde alone for the plusiinae pests MacDunnoughia confusa (in Europe) and Autographa californica (in North America) and for the Noctuinae cutworm Xestia c-nigrum (in North America)

Performance of traps baited with pear ester-based lures vs. pheromone baited ones for monitoring codling moth Cydia pomonella L. in Hungary

Traps baited with pear ester + acetic acid were capable of monitoring the codling moth although caught fewer specimens than pheromone baited traps. The general flight patterns recorded in pear ester + acetic acid baited traps resembled closely those recorded with pheromone traps. The only aspect in which pear ester + acetic acid baited traps lagged behind was early detection of first moth specimens occurring in the season. The great advantage of traps with pear ester + acetic acid over pheromone traps was that the former caught females in a high percentage. Further studies are needed to determine whether the sex ratio recorded in captures resembles reliably the natural sex ratio of the given population, or it is distorted. It appears that traps baited with pear ester + acetic acid present a useful alternative for monitoring codling moth especially in mating disruption treated orchards where pheromone traps do not work, or in any other situations where for any reason the capture of female codling moths is sought for. The lower efficiency of the pear ester + acetic acid bait can easily be overcome by applying more traps for monitoring at a given site

Pear ester based lures for the codling moth Cydia pomonella L. — A summary of research efforts in Hungary

For acceptable capture efficiency it was necessary to add acetic acid to pear ester for successful trapping of codling moth populations in Hungary. The activity of pear ester on its own was very weak and unsatisfactory. Pear ester+acetic acid baited traps caught on an average 25% (mean of 6 tests) of the catch in pheromone traps. Traps with pear ester+acetic acid were clearly advantageous as compared to pheromone traps in that they caught not only males but also females (both virgins and mated) in a high percentage. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid clearly outperformed high-load pheromone lures in orchards with mating disruption and should be the right choice for the grower for sampling populations of codling moth in a mating disruption situation. In orchards with no mating disruption the relative inefficiency of pear ester+acetic acid baited traps as compared to pheromone traps can easily be overcome by applying more traps than usual. Thus the overall codling moth numbers caught will become higher and would make any conclusions drawn more reliable. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid always caught more when set at the highest branches (3.0–3.5 m) than when set lower (1.5–1.8 m) on trees