The pine sawyer beetle Monochamus galloprovincialis, a secondary pest of pines in Europe and North Africa, has become important as it was identified as the vector in Europe of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD). An effective trapping system is needed, not only for monitoring the insect vector but also for direct control of its population. Trapping may also provide key information on the nematode load carried by the beetles, allowing early detection of infections, provided that captured beetles remain alive within the trap. Highly effective attractants have been developed in recent years that are commonly used in combination with diverse standard trap designs. In this study, several trap designs were developed and compared to commercial standard models in order to determine which designs maximized the number of attracted insects actually caught and the proportion of them remaining alive. In total, 12 trap designs were evaluated in five field experiments carried out in France, Spain and Portugal. Teflon coating applied to the whole trap and extended, ventilated collecting cups resulted in a significant improvement of trap performance. These modifications led to significant increases of pine sawyer catches, up to 275%, when applied to multiple‐funnel or black cross‐vane traps, compared to standard designs. Furthermore, a significant proportion of the captured beetles remained alive within the trap. These findings have been used to develop new commercial traps (Econex Multifunnel‐12® and Crosstrap®; Econex, Murcia, Spain) available to forest managers. A model for insect survival within the trap was also fitted. Elapsed time between consecutive samplings, mean relative humidity and maximum radiation were the three most significant variables. Thus, traps should provide a suitable sample of live insects if sun exposure of the trap is minimized and a reasonable sampling schedule is implemented.

The detection of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in Pinus pinaster trees in Portugal in 1999 led the official services to implement exceptional and urgent control measures to prevent the spread of the pest. Because the pest is vector‐transmitted, special attention was paid to the insects associated with infested trees. A survey comprising 21 species of insects, from six families, with a total of 1367 specimens, was made in order to evaluate their possible role as vectors of the nematode in Portugal. Five insect species were found to carry other Bursaphelenchus spp., but only Monochamus galloprovincialis was associated with B. xylophilus.

Insects associated with maritime pine, Pinus pinaster, in Portugal were collected and screened for the presence of Bursaphelenchus species.

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1 Pheromone traps are widely used for monitoring or managing insect pest populations. However, it is important to know their range of attraction to optimize the setting of pheromone trap networks. 2 We propose an easy method based on the use of pairs of adjacent traps located at decreasing distance from each other. The range of attraction is deduced from the observation of reduced trap capture when the attraction range of two adjacent traps starts overlapping. The relationship between the relative trap capture and the distance between paired traps is fitted with a logistic curve. 3 To empirically test these predictions, we conducted trapping experiments with the beetle Monochamus galloprovincialis, the insect vector of the pine wood nematode. Fifteen pairs of traps separated by 25 to 300 m, in France, and 18 pairs of traps distant from 25 to 400 m, in Portugal, were installed in maritime pine plantation landscapes. 4 In both countries, the relative percentage of capture per trap per week was best fitted by a logistic model with two parameters. The estimated attraction ranges were 92 m (confidence interval = 62-211 m) in France and 123 m (confidence interval = 64-491 m) in Portugal. 5 The interference between paired traps thus provides a simple and robust method for estimating the attraction range of pheromone traps.