Comparing Performance of Synthetic Sex Attractants and a Semisynthetic Bisexual Lure in Orthosia and Conistra Species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The performance of a semisynthetic bisexual lure (SBL, containing isoamyl alcohol, acetic acid and red wine) previously found attractive for a number of noctuids was compared with that of the respective synthetic sex attractants of Orthosia cerasi (=stabilis), O. cruda, O. gothica, O. incerta, Anorthoa munda and Conistra vaccini. The respective sex attractants performed significantly better in the Orthosia spp. than the SBL lure, which, although regularly catching low numbers of both females and males, did not differ significantly from zero catch in unbaited control traps. On the other hand, the SBL lure performed as well as the sex attractant in C. vaccini. Sizeable catches of C. rubiginea, C. rubiginosa and C. erythrocephala were also recorded in traps with the SBL lure. The SBL lure can prove to be a useful tool in ecological and faunistical studies of Conistra and related hibernating Xylenini species.

One Decade’s Research Efforts in Hungary to Develop a Bisexual Lure for the Cotton Bollworm Helicoverpa armigera Hübner

The addition of synthetic (E)-anethol to the known attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized attraction of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera, the blend invariably catching 4 to 6 times more than phenylacetaldehyde on its own. Highest catches were recorded by the 1:1-3:1 blends. The addition of salicyl aldehyde, ±linalool, (R)-(+)-limonene, 2-methoxybenzyl alcohol and 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol (compounds described earlier in the literature as co-attractants for H. armigera), increased catches when added to phenylacetaldehyde. However, the addition of these compounds did not increase catches of the (E)-anethol+pheny- lacetaldehyde blend. When directly compared with performance of the synthetic pheromone, the (E)-anethol +phenylacetaldehyde blend caught an average of 27% of the catch in pheromone baited traps. On an average 79% of moths caught in traps with the (E)-anethol+phenylacetaldehyde blend were females, while traps with pheromone caught only males. The (E)-anethol+phenylacetaldehyde blend described in this study may form the basis for the development of an efficient bisexual lure for H. armigera AFTER further optimization.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the European corn borer monitoring using bisexual lure based on tests results in the Kuban and the Central Black Earth Zone of Russia

During summer 2019, pilot tests were conducted in the Eastern part of the Krasnodar Krai and in the North of the Voronezh Region on two volatile semiochemicals of maize (phenylacetaldehyde and 4-methoxy-2-phenethyl alcohol) to monitor the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis number in comparison with sex pheromones. Traps with semiochemical lure caught significantly more pest adults than traps with sex pheromone – in the Voronezh Region by 16.5 times, and in the Krasnodar Krai by 2.4 times. At the same time, about half of the moths attracted by semiochemical lure were females, whose information value for forecasting is significantly higher than that of males. The results obtained indicate that semiochemical lure can be used for monitoring pests, especially in the Northern foci of its harm, where traps with sex pheromones cannot provide reliable monitoring of the insect

Development of 2-phenylethanol plus acetic acid lures to monitor obliquebanded leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) under mating disruption

We evaluated the effectiveness of 2-phenylethanol (PET) in combination with acetic acid (AA) as a binary lure for monitoring male and female obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris). Studies were conducted in apple, Malus domestica Borkhausen, orchards treated with or without sex pheromone dispensers for mating disruption (MD). Open polypropylene vials, closed membrane cups, and rubber septa loaded with AA and/or PET in varying amounts were first evaluated in a series of trapping experiments. Membrane cups loaded with 800 mg of PET were as effective as 10-mg septa, but longer lasting, and were comparable to the open vials. A membrane cup AA lure was effective in tests, but further work is needed to increase its release rate and extend its activity. Catches of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), and C. rosaceana were unaffected by combining PET with (E,E)-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol, the sex pheromone of codling moth, pear ester, (E,Z)-2,4-ethyl-decadienoate, and AA lures. Adding (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene to this blend to enhance codling moth catch, significantly reduced catches of C. rosaceana. PET+AA was a more attractive binary lure than AA plus phenylacetonitrile (PAN) for C. rosaceana. The addition of PET or PAN to traps already baited with the sex pheromone of C. rosaceana significantly reduced male catches. Traps baited with PET+AA placed in blocks not treated with MD caught significantly fewer C. rosaceana than traps baited with sex pheromone. In comparison, sex pheromone-baited traps in MD blocks caught ≤ 1 male moth per season which was significantly lower than total moth (> 10) or female moth (≥ 3) catch in these blocks with PET+AA. A high proportion (> 70%) of trapped females were mated in both untreated and MD-treated orchards. Further refinement of this binary, bisexual lure using membrane cup technology may allow the establishment of action thresholds and improve management timings for C. rosaceana.