Evaluation of Some Baits And Traps against Oriental Wasp Vespa Orientalis L. (hymenoptera: Vespidae)

This study was carried out in the fields of Collage of Agricultural Engineering Sciences \ University of Duhok. The efficiency of four types of traps and Baits were assessed to reduce the damage of the Oriental red wasp (Vespa orientalis L.) on honey bees and crops in the region. Four different traps were used : wooden cage, small metal trap, Plastic white wide cylindrical trap, long cylindrical trap, as well as different baits in such trap as minced meat , Tuna fish, fesha ( sheep's lung ), chicken meal . The results showed that the catch from the wooden cage was significantly higher than the rest of the traps with an average of 76 insect / trap. While metal trap was the lowest average of 26 insect / trap, fish bait was significantly highest with 67.75 insects / bait. Downloads

Three-dimensional random walk models of individual animal movement and their application to trap counts modelling

BackgroundRandom walks (RWs) have proved to be a powerful modelling tool in ecology, particularly in the study of animal movement. An application of RW concerns trapping which is the predominant sampling method to date in insect ecology, invasive species, and agricultural pest management. A lot of research effort has been directed towards modelling ground-dwelling insects by simulating their movement in 2D, and computing pitfall trap counts, but comparatively very little for flying insects with 3D elevated traps.MethodsWe introduce the mathematics behind 3D RWs and present key metrics such as the mean squared displacement (MSD) and path sinuosity, which are already well known in 2D. We develop the mathematical theory behind the 3D correlated random walk (CRW) which involves short-term directional persistence and the 3D Biased random walk (BRW) which introduces a long-term directional bias in the movement so that there is an overall preferred movement direction. In this study, we consider three types of shape of 3D traps, which are commonly used in ecological field studies; a spheroidal trap, a cylindrical trap and a rectangular cuboidal trap. By simulating movement in 3D space, we investigated the effect of 3D trap shapes and sizes and of movement diffusion on trapping efficiency.ResultsWe found that there is a non-linear dependence of trap counts on the trap surface area or volume, but the effect of volume appeared to be a simple consequence of changes in area. Nevertheless, there is a slight but clear hierarchy of trap shapes in terms of capture efficiency, with the spheroidal trap retaining more counts than a cylinder, followed by the cuboidal type for a given area. We also showed that there is no effect of short-term persistence when diffusion is kept constant, but trap counts significantly decrease with increasing diffusion.ConclusionOur results provide a better understanding of the interplay between the movement pattern, trap geometry and impacts on trapping efficiency, which leads to improved trap count interpretations, and more broadly, has implications for spatial ecology and population dynamics.

Three-dimensional random walk models of individual animal movement and their application to trap counts modelling

Background: Random walks (RWs) have proved to be a powerful modelling tool in ecology, particularly in the study of animal movement. An application of RW concerns trapping which is the predominant sampling method to date in insect ecology, invasive species, and agricultural pest management. A lot of research effort has been directed towards modelling ground-dwelling insects by simulating their movement in 2D, and computing pitfall trap counts, but comparatively very little for flying insects with 3D elevated traps. Methods: We introduce the mathematics behind 3D RWs and present key metrics such as the mean squared displacement (MSD) and path sinuosity, which are already well known in 2D. We develop the mathematical theory behind the 3D correlated random walk (CRW) which involves short-term directional persistence and the 3D Biased random walk (BRW) which introduces a long-term directional bias in the movement so that there is an overall preferred movement direction. In this study, we consider three types of shape of 3D traps, which are commonly used in ecological field studies; a spheroidal trap, a cylindrical trap and a rectangular cuboidal trap. By simulating movement in 3D space, we investigated the effect of 3D trap shapes and sizes and of movement diffusion on trapping efficiency. Results: We found that there is a non-linear dependence of trap counts on the trap surface area or volume, but the effect of volume appeared to be a simple consequence of changes in area. Nevertheless, there is a slight but clear hierarchy of trap shapes in terms of capture efficiency, with the spheroidal trap retaining more counts than a cylinder, followed by the cuboidal type for a given area. We also showed that there is no effect of short-term persistence when diffusion is kept constant, but trap counts significantly decrease with increasing diffusion . Conclusion: Our results provide a better understanding of the interplay between the movement pattern, trap geometry and impacts on trapping efficiency, which leads to improved trap count interpretations, and more broadly, has implications for spatial ecology and population dynamics.

Three-dimensional random walk models of individual animal movement and their application to trap counts modelling

Background: Random walks (RWs) have proved to be a powerful modelling tool in ecology, particularly in the study of animal movement. An application of RW concerns trapping which is the predominant sampling method to date in insect ecology, invasive species, and agricultural pest management. A lot of research effort has been directed towards modelling ground-dwelling insects by simulating their movement in 2D, and computing pitfall trap counts, but comparatively very little for flying insects with 3D elevated traps. Methods: We introduce the mathematics behind 3D RWs and present key metrics such as the mean squared displacement (MSD) and path sinuosity, which are already well known in 2D. We develop the mathematical theory behind the 3D correlated random walk (CRW) which involves short-term directional persistence and the 3D Biased random walk (BRW) which introduces a long-term directional bias in the movement so that there is an overall preferred movement direction. In this study, we consider three types of shape of 3D traps, which are commonly used in ecological field studies; a spheroidal trap, a cylindrical trap and a rectangular cuboidal trap. By simulating movement in 3D space, we investigated the effect of 3D trap shapes and sizes and of movement diffusion on trapping efficiency. Results: We found that there is a non-linear dependence of trap counts on the trap surface area or volume, but the effect of volume appeared to be a simple consequence of changes in area. Nevertheless, there is a slight but clear hierarchy of trap shapes in terms of capture efficiency, with the spheroidal trap retaining more counts than a cylinder, followed by the cuboidal type for a given area. We also showed that there is no effect of short-term persistence when diffusion is kept constant, but trap counts significantly decrease with increasing diffusion. Conclusion: Our results provide a better understanding of the interplay between the movement pattern, trap geometry and impacts on trapping efficiency, which leads to improved trap count interpretations, and more broadly, has implications for spatial ecology and population dynamics.

A Non-Sticky Trap for Tarnished Plant Bug (Heteroptera: Miridae)

A simple trap that does not require the use of sticky material to capture tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is described. The 28 × 11 cm (diam) cylindrical trap was constructed by cutting and joining sections from two 2-L clear plastic soft drink bottles and gluing screened entrance cones from commercially-available boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) traps in each end. Five sticky trap designs were tested, and the sticky trap that captured the most plant bugs was compared to the non-sticky trap. With virgin females plus green bean pods (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as bait, the non-sticky traps captured only males, but females comprised 11% of the capture on the sticky traps. Females comprised 40% of the capture on sticky traps baited with green bean pods only. Opaque traps shaped like the clear traps were inferior to the clear traps. The non-sticky trap should facilitate testing of potential components of the pheromone of tarnished plant bug, and perhaps that of L. hesperus Knight. The combination of a synthetic plant bug pheromone and a non-sticky trap may lead to a practical method of monitoring or estimating populations.