The midge Dasineura mali (Kieffer) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is a significant pest of apples (Malus spp.), and the recent identification of the female sex pheromone is enabling new direct control tactics to be considered. Direct control using male suppression will require knowledge of the frequency of multiple mating, dispersal and colonization rates, and the efficiency of male removal. Males were able to mate up to five times, with a mean of 2.7 times when presented in a 10 female-to-1 male group, designed to simulate male suppression. Male catch in response to the pheromone loading was curvilinear over 4 orders of magnitude from 3 microg to 30 mg on rubber septa. Trapping using a high-dose pheromone lure was combined with oil-based traps similar to the inexpensive New Zealand "Lynfield trap" used for tephritid surveillance, to test male suppression in young orchard blocks at 500 traps per ha. Monitoring traps indicated 96% lower catch in the treated plots compared with control plots, over 137 d. However, a lack of shoot tip infestation in both treated and untreated plots indicated limited colonization and prevented an assessment of potential population suppression. Furthermore, a contribution to these results from communication disruption cannot be ruled out. Replicated transects of frequency of infested shoots from a mature orchard across the adjacent young block confirmed that colonization by ovipositing females was essentially limited to the first 30 m.

Sticky traps for monitoring insects use polybutene adhesive (PBA) to entangle insects. This glue is effective but messy to use and an alternative, hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesive (HMPSA) is available. The effectiveness of these two adhesives was compared for catching pest and beneficial insects, primarily in apples. Various types of trap with either PBA or HMSPA were placed in orchards and vineyards in Hawke’s Bay and Nelson. Eight pests from six families, six parasitoids, five predators and one pollinator were commonly recorded. Traps with HMPSA generally caught similar numbers or more of both insect pests and beneficial insects than traps with PBA. Traps with HMPSA performed better for larger insects (>1.5 mm), whereas those with PBA tended to be more effective for smaller insects. Both types of adhesive were effective for up to 4 weeks. HMPSA was effective for monitoring a range of insect pests and beneficial insects. Compared with PBA, HMPSA was more consistent and much cleaner and easier to use. It is recommended that HMPSA replaces PBA in traps for monitoring moth pests in the pipfruit industry.

Mealybugs are phloem-feeding insects found on many crops worldwide. In New Zealand vineyards, they transmit the economically important Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3). For some mealybug species, synthetic sex pheromones have been commercialised, and are used as monitoring tools. The mealybugs Pseudococcus longispinus and Pseudococcus calceolariae are major pests in many New Zealand vineyards. We present work on the development of a combined P. longispinus and P. calceolariae pheromone lure. The optimal dose for monitoring P. longispinus was found to be 10 µg of the (S)-(+)-enantiomer, either alone or in the racemic mixture. Addition of the corresponding alcohol did not improve trap catch of P. longispinus. Both the P. longispinus and the P. calceolariae pheromone lures remained active in the field for 90 days. Combining the 2 species’ pheromones had no negative effects on male mealybug trap catch for either species. We conclude that the pheromone ester alone is the best lure for the male P. longispinus. Combining the two mealybug species’ pheromones into a single lure provides the New Zealand viticultural industry with an efficient monitoring tool. Late-vintage deployment of baited lures will provide information on mealybug abundance and local distribution that will inform the scope of future insecticide programmes, to target areas based on need rather than an area-wide application by default.

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