Canadian Forest Service Publications
Influence of trap colour, type, deployment height, and a host volatile on monitoring Orchestes fagi (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Nova Scotia, Canada. Goodwin, J. T., Pawlowski, S. P., Mayo, P. D., Silk, P. J., Sweeney, J. D., & Hillier, N. K. (2019). The Canadian Entomologist, 152(1), 98-109.
Year: 2019
Issued by: Atlantic Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 40259
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.4039/tce.2019.63
† This site may require a fee
Abstract
Orchestes fagi (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a pest of beech trees (Fagus sylvatica Linnaeus; Fagaceae) in Europe that has recently become established and invasive on American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart) in Nova Scotia, Canada. We tested the effects of trap type, trap colour, trap height, and lure on the numbers of O. fagi captured per trap with the objective of developing a survey tool to monitor the weevil’s spread. We captured O. fagi in significantly greater numbers on yellow, green, or white traps than on light blue, dark blue, or red traps. There were no significant interactions between trap colour and trap design. Sticky triangular prism traps caught significantly more O. fagi than did nonsticky intercept traps regardless of colour. No effect of trap height was observed. Mean catch of O. fagi was significantly greater on yellow sticky triangular prism traps than on commercially sourced yellow sticky cards. Baiting yellow, green, or white sticky prism traps with the host volatile 9-geranyl-p-cymene did not increase catch of O. fagi. Our results suggest that yellow, green, or white sticky prism traps are a useful tool for detecting O. fagi adults and monitoring the spread of this species in Canada.
Plain Language Summary
The beech leaf-mining weevil is an invasive forest insect pest from Europe now established and spreading in Nova Scotia. More than five years of successive defoliation by the weevil has caused more than 90% mortality of American beech in infested stands. Mitigation of the beech weevil’s impact requires effective survey tools to monitor its spread in Nova Scotia and the rest of North America. This study tested trap colour, trap type, trap placement, and a synthetic lure containing a chemical emitted from beech buds at the time of bud-burst, for their effects on beech weevil detection. We found that trap catches were greatest on yellow, green, or white traps, and that sticky prism traps caught more weevils than non-sticky panel traps or commercially available sticky cards. Placing traps in the upper canopy of beech trees did not increase catch compared to placing them at eye level. Baiting traps with the beech bud compound did not affect trap catches. Our results suggest that yellow, green, or white sticky prism traps are a useful tool for detecting O. fagi adults and monitoring the spread of this species in Canada.
