Mating disruption is a novel technique that has been used successfully by many apple growers for control of one or more pest species. However, this approach has not been widely adopted in some apple production regions, including Michigan. Among the factors that contribute to the relatively low adoption of mating disruption in some areas are the high cost of the technique and the presence of sev...

Boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), eradication programs typically equip pheromone traps with an insecticide-impregnated kill strip. These strips are intended to kill captured insects, thereby simplifying trap servicing and reducing the loss of weevils from predation and escape. However, the effectiveness of kill strips has not been extensively evaluated...

Multifunnel traps baited with frontalin and turpentine have been used to investigate dispersal of southern pine beetles, Dendroctonus front&s Zimmermann, and are routinely used in the southern United States to monitor population trends of this serious forest pest. However, there is no quantitative data on the effective sampling area of these traps that would allow us to convert numbers of beetl...

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has now become a pest of global concern. Originally known to be endemic the Western Hemisphere, its first detection in Africa was followed by spectacular outbreaks and spread almost all sub-Saharan countries. rapid incursion S. on maize (Zea mays L.; Poaceae) fields highlighted crucial need for comprehensive assess...

Field trials were conducted in cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata), cauliflower (B oleracea var botrytis) and knol khol (B oleracea gongylodes) crops at two different locations in Karnataka State (India) to optimize the timing of insecticide applications to control the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, using sex pheromone traps. Our results indicate that applications of cartap hydroch...

In order to develop efficient lures for soybean pod borer Leguminivora glycinivorella (Matsumura) in China, (E,E)-8,10-dodecadienyl acetate (EE-8,10-12:Ac), the main component of the pheromone of L. glycinivorella, and 12 structurally-related compounds were synthesised in good overall yields, regiospecificities, and stereo-selectivities via coupling reactions catalysed by Li₂CuCl₄. The effect o...

Field trials of the sex pheromone of an important and potentially invasive pest of avocados, Persea americana Miller (Lauraceae), Stenoma catenifer Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae), were carried out in commercial avocado orchards in Guatemala. The results indicated that the pheromone consists of a single component, (9Z)-9,13-tetradecadien-1-ynal; blends of this compound with a range of ra...

Orientation of insects to host plants and conspecifics is the result of detection and integration of chemical and physical cues present in the environment. Sensory organs have evolved to be sensitive to important signals, providing neural input for higher order multimodal processing and behavioral output. Here we report experiments to determine decisions made by Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Le...

The feasibility of synthetic sex pheromone as a communication disruption agent for the control of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), was examined by dispensing a 7:3 mixture of (Z,E)-9, 12-tetradecadienyl acetate and (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-o1. When this mixture was dispensed into a 155 ha field, the attraction of male moths to sex pheromone traps was completely inhibited, while the dens...

Traps containing a combination floral and synthetic pheromone lure are used to monitor and manage Japanese beetles, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). One key factor limiting trap effectiveness for beetle control is the "trap spillover" phenomenon, in which the trap attracts beetles without capturing them, resulting in increased damage to surrounding host plants. We investigat...