Developing a non‐sticky trap design for monitoring jewel beetles

There is an urgent need in Europe to prepare resources for the arrival of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Buprestidae, Coleoptera) from European Russia, and possibly other invasive jewel beetles. A lightweight, easy to handle, non‐sticky trap could facilitate monitoring and detection to derive information about emerald ash borer and other jewel beetle populations. In two experiments carried out over two consecutive years in an oak forest, a new non‐sticky multi‐funnel trap design with a light‐green (sometimes described as fluorescent yellow) visual cue was developed. Altogether, there were 238 (2018) and 194 (2019) specimens captured often (2018) and eight (2019) Agrilus species, eight of which are oak‐related and one (A. convexicollis) was linked to ash. The new light‐green multi‐funnel trap performed similarly to the sticky design with a similar coloured surface. Our results suggest that the new trap design may be suitable for catching a wide range of buprestid species. It may also have the potential to be further optimized with respect to visual and olfactory cues, which would provide an even more useful tool for monitoring both invasive and indigenous buprestids.