Japanese Beetles: Shielded Traps to Increase Captures

Gonnewardene et al. (1970) and Ladd (1970) demonstrated the presence of a sex attractant in the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, by placing females in the bait wells of Ellisco® Japanese beetle traps and recording the numbers captured. Other observations by personnel of the Japanese Beetle and European Chafer Investigations Laboratory, formerly at Moorestown, N. J., revealed that traps baited with chemical lures captured virgin females and that these captured females lured many beetles to the outside of the top of the collection canister (Fig. 1). We conducted the present test to determine whether elimination of the landing sites by shielding the base of the capture funnel, the canister, or both, would increase captures of beetles.