Evaluation of Mass Trapping and Mating Disruption for Managing Prionus californicus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Hop Production Yards

Abstract

Larvae of Prionus californicus Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) feed on the roots of many types of woody perennial crops and are serious pests of hop in the northwestern United States. The adult males are strongly attracted to a volatile sex pheromone, (3R,5S)-3,5-dimethyldodecanoic acid, that is produced by females. Here, we summarize the results of field experiments that evaluated the potential for using the synthetic pheromone (in a blend of all four possible stereoisomers) to manage infestations of P. californicus in commercial hop yards by mass trapping or mating disruption. Our research provides evidence that mass trapping may be effective in reducing mating success of the females: positioning surrogate females (sentinel traps baited with a low dose of pheromone) within a square of eight pheromone-baited traps resulted in an 88% reduction in the number of wild males that reached the sentinel traps compared with sentinel traps that were surrounded by traps baited with blank lures. Similarly, surrogate females that were surrounded by pheromone lures (without traps) were reached by 84% fewer wild males than surrogate females surrounded by blank lures, suggesting that mating disruption also may be effective. A mark-recapture experiment indicated that male P. californicus were attracted to traps baited with 1 mg of pheromone from as far away as 585 m. These studies indicate that 3,5-dimethyldodecanoic acid has very good potential for managing P. californicus in hop yards, and perhaps in other crops where it is a pest.

Assessing mass trapping efficiency and population density of Cerambyx welensii Küster by mark-recapture in dehesa open woodlands

“…The mark-recapture method has been previously used in a number of studies to estimate adult population size of cerambycids, both with endangered (Tikkamäki and Komonen 2011;Drag et al 2011) and pest species (Shibata 1986;Hanks et al 1998;Smith et al 2004;Maki et al 2011). The method has also proved to be quite effective with C. welensii in the only previous study available in which adults were caught by hand (López-Pantoja et al 2008).…”

“…It is also necessary to consider the potential cumulative effect of population declining whether mass trapping is repeated over successive years in the same area, and also that improved baits could significantly increase trapping efficiency (Yamanaka 2007), for which monoterpene-based lures are good candidates (Sánchez-Osorio 2005;Sánchez-Osorio et al 2007). Mass trapping has proved to be effective with Prionus californicus Motschulsky, the most serious cerambycid pest of hop crops in USA (Maki et al 2011).…”

Fuscumol and fuscumol acetate are general attractants for many species of cerambycid beetles in the subfamily Lamiinae

“…Pheromones of cerambycid beetles currently are being developed as management tools for endemic species that are important pests (Maki et al, 2011), as well as for quar-antine applications (e.g., Nehme et al, 2010;Barbour et al, 2011;Teale et al, 2011). Furthermore, synthetic pheromones of cerambycids will be deployed by USDA-APHIS for monitoring of exotic species nationwide in 2012 (V Mastro, pers.…”

Pheromones and Other Semiochemicals for Monitoring Rare and Endangered Species

“…One important result from these trials is that, despite their high attraction, pheromone traps rarely capture most of the available insects at a distance beyond a few tens of meters away from a trap. Recapture rates for pheromone traps that target different insect taxa, such as moths, various groups of beetles, and sawflies, often range from around 10 to 30-40% (Kishita et al 2003; Larsson and Svensson 2009; Maki et al 2011; Östrand et al 2001; Weslien and Lindelow 1990), although they may reach over 90% (Zhang and Schlyter 1996). …”