Combining visual cues and pheromone blends for monitoring and management of the tarnished plant bug Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The tarnished plant bug Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) is considered the most damaging pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the mid-southern United States. Previous studies have reported the role of different ratios of volatile metathoracic gland components such as hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal in eliciting low-level attraction of L. lineolaris. In this study, we tested different visual cues (colored sticky cards) in combination with olfactory cues (pheromone blends) to optimize the attraction and capture of L. lineolaris in the field.RESULTS: Red-colored sticky cards were more attractive to L. lineolaris adults than white, blue or yellow cards. Red sticky cards combined with blends of three potential pheromone components attracted significantly more L. lineolaris adults than sticky cards without a blend added. Traps baited with a blend of hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal in 4:10:7 ratio, respectively, caught a significantly higher number of L. lineolaris than those baited with 10:4:2 or 7:10:4 blends or an unbaited control in the first week of the experiment. CONCLUSIONS: Combining visual cues (red color) with olfactory cues (pheromone blends) significantly increased the capture of L. lineolaris in the field. This device or a future iteration could contribute towards sustainable and environmentally appropriate early-season monitoring and management of L. lineolaris in the field.

Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae) to host plant volatiles

“…Many studies have demonstrated the importance of blend ratio for Lygus spp. attraction (Ho and Millar 2002;Innocenzi et al 2004;Innocenzi et al 2005;Byers et al 2013;Fountain et al 2014;Parys and Hall 2017;Zhang et al 2021;George et al 2023). When encountered outside the context of an appropriate blend, pheromone components provide very different information, especially when they also serve defensive functions (Groot et al 2001).…”

“…Pheromone lures have been successfully developed for Lygus rugulipennis and integrated into related management practices (Innocenzi et al 2005;Fountain et al 2014;Fountain et al 2021). Recently tested blends for L. lineolaris also show great promise (Parys and Hall 2017;George et al 2023). However, efforts to develop pheromone lures for L.…”

Enantiospecific Attraction of Lygus Lineolaris Palisot De Beauvois (Hemiptera: Miridae) to a Ubiquitous Floral Volatile in the Field

“…The mirid visual system being tuned toward longer wavelengths may explain the e cacy of red and green traps for monitoring Lygus spp. (Blackmer et al 2008;George et al 2023). Future studies should evaluate L. lineolaris sensitivity to different wavelengths of light to further optimize visual parameters of traps for this species, as was recently done for Drosophila suzukii (Little et al 2019).…”

“…Field experiments were conducted to compare L. lineolaris capture rate between traps baited with each of the ve antennally active host plant volatiles identi ed previously (Table 2) and a solvent control. Each block consisted of a linear array of six red sticky traps (Trécé Pherocon SWD STKY adhesive traps; Great Lakes IPM, Vestaburg, MI), as previous experiments conducted in our lab (Hetherington 2023) and others (George et al 2023) revealed that these traps capture L. lineolaris at signi cantly higher rates than other colored traps. Lures consisted of a 4 ml polypropylene vial (Nalgene -Rochester, NY) containing a 1 cm length cotton dental wick (Dynarex -Orangeburg, NY), onto which either 500 mg of dichloromethane (control) or 500 mg of each individual experimental compound was loaded.…”

Early Season Monitoring of Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris, in Wild Hosts Using Pheromone Traps

“…Previous studies have shown that the red-colored sticky cards are highly attractive to L. lineolaris adults compared to the blue, white, and yellow sticky cards. The red sticky cards baited with pheromone lures containing hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate, and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal in a 4:10:7 ratio, respectively, trapped a significantly higher number of L. lineolaris than those lured with 10:4:2 or 7:10:4 blends or an unbaited control in the cotton field experiments [15].…”