Development of Trapping Tools for Detection and Monitoring of Diabrotica v. virgifera in Europe

Trap designs baited with the synthetic sex pheromone have been optimized for trapping of the western corn rootworm Diabrotica v. virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (WCR), which has recently been introduced into Europe. The best trap design proved to be the sticky “cloak” trap (code name “PAL”), which catches only males, and is being used in many countries of Europe for detection and monitoring the spread of the new pest. Preliminarily the range of attraction (as defined by Wall and Perry, 1987) of the pheromone traps was estimated to be <10 m. The performance of yellow sticky plates (used by others for monitoring of the pest) was insignificant as compared to the activity of the pheromone baited traps, and yellow colour had no discernible effect on catches in pheromone traps. The known floral lure of WCR containing 4-methoxy-cinnamaldehyde and indole proved to be active also towards the population in Europe, attracting both females and males. Yellow colour slightly increased catches by the flora...