Barbara A. Lewis

Trapping Plum Curculio Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Southern United States

Abstract A more practical method than limb jarring is needed to monitor the plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), in peach trees. Of 223 orchard visits made in Arkansas, traps captured plum curculio adults on 114 visits, whereas limb jarring did so on only 29 visits. Pyramid traps and jarring tree limbs along the orchard edge began to capture plum curculio adults 1 wk before the start of fruit feeding damage and continued to capture plum curculio adults until after harvest. Pyramid traps located at the edge of the peach orchard caught significantly more adults than did traps placed >30 m into the orchard interior or traps placed along the edge of an adjacent woodlot. Pyramid traps and screen traps captured similar numbers of plum curculio adults in 14 of 17 samples. Only one orchard in Oklahoma and another in Arkansas had smaller circumference tree trunks (<38 cm) than the other orchards resulting in significantly more plum curculio adults captured in pyramid traps than in screen traps. The screen trap was less expensive and sustained environmental conditions better than did the pyramid trap and may be used on trees >38 cm in circumference. The derived economic threshold of 0.045 plum curculio adults per pyramid trap per day equated to 1% new fruit damage. This study suggested that combining trap counts with percentage of new fruit damage should be used to make insecticide application decisions against plum curculio.

Biology and control of the raspberry crown borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae).

Abstract This study explored the biology of raspberry crown borer, Pennisetia marginata (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), in Arkansas and the optimum timing for insecticide and nematode applications. The duration of P. marginata’s life cycle was observed to be 1 yr in Arkansas. Insecticide trials revealed that bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, metaflumizone, and metofluthrin efficacy were comparable with that of azinphosmethyl, the only labeled insecticide for P. marginata in brambles until 2005. Applications on 23 October 2003 for plots treated with bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, and azinphosmethyl resulted in >88% reduction in larvae per crown. Applications on 3 November 2004 of metaflumizone, metofluthrin, and bifenthrin resulted in >89% reduction in larvae per crown. Applications on 7 April 2005 for metofluthrin, imidacloprid, bifenthrin, metaflumizone, and benzoylphenyl urea resulted in >64% reduction in the number of larvae per crown. Applications on 6 May 2004 did not reduce larval numbers. The optimum timing for treatments was found to be between October and early April, before the larvae tunneled into the crowns of plants. Applying bifenthrin with as little as 468 liters water/ha (50 gal/acre) was found to be as effective against larvae as higher volumes of spray. Nematode applications were less successful than insecticides. Nematode applications of Steinernema feltiae, Steinernema carpocapsae, and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora reduced larvae counts per plant by 46, 53, and 33%, respectively.

Inexpensive Trap for Monitoring the Green June Beetle

ABSTRACT Green June beetle, Cotinis nitida (L.), is an important pest of grapes, peaches, blackberries, blueberries, apples, and pears. Currently, there is no inexpensive, commercially available lure or trap that could serve monitoring green June beetle adults. The objective of this study was to develop and optimize an inexpensive bottle trap baited with isopropanol to attract and capture green June beetle adults. Bottle traps baited with 8 mm diameter cotton wicked dispensers emitted from 9 to 43 ml isopropanol in 48 h and maintained that alcohol at a fairly constant concentration compared with the prototypical bottle trap with large surface evaporation of isopropanol poured into the bottom of the trap. Over 5 d, the isopropanol in the wicked dispensers remained at the same stable concentration of 45–44.5%, whereas isopropanol concentration in the bottom of prototypical traps dropped from 45% to ≈11% after 24 h and to 0.2% by 48 h. Bottle traps with isopropanol dispensers and cotton wicks of 4, 6, or 8 mm in diameter caught significantly more green June beetles than did prototypical bottle traps with no dispensers. Isopropanol concentrations of 45.5, 66, and 91% attracted more green June beetle adults than the lower concentrations. Significantly more green June beetle adults were attracted to traps with dispensers set at 1.3 m height than those at lower heights, and traps topped with a blue, orange, or white band captured more green June beetle adults than those with bands of other colors. The optimized bottle trap is made from recycled transparent polyethylene terephthalate beverage bottle (710-ml; 24 oz.) with a blue, orange, or white band, baited with an 8 mm cotton wick dispenser of 45.5% isopropanol and hung at a height of 1.3 m. Cost and uses for this trap are discussed.

Grape Phylloxera (Homoptera: Phylloxeridae): Comparison of Leaf Damage to Grape Cultivars Grown in Arkansas

Grape cultivars (Vitis) grown in northwestern Arkansas varied significantly in gall counts per leaf produced by the foliar grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch). ‘Saturn’, ‘Fredonia’, ...

Comparison of Color Attractiveness for Agrilus ruficollis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae): Potential for a Simple Trap

Abstract The rednecked cane borer, Agrilus ruficollis (F.), is a pest of cultivated and wild blackberries in the midwestern and eastern parts of the United States. Damage from this pest occurs from larvae girdling primocanes and tunneling in the pith, forming galls that can potentially reduce yields. There is only one registered insecticide and no trap available for monitoring. Paints mimicking the spectral reflectance of blackberry leaves and canes of both primocane and floricane were applied to wooden dowels or corrugated plastic mimicking the shape of blackberry canes and leaves. The dowels or corrugated plastic were covered with sticky Tangletrap, and field was evaluated for attractiveness to A. ruficollis for three years, with modifications to trap design each year. Commercially available emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, funnel traps were evaluated for attractiveness to A. ruficollis in 2014. In 2011, the greatest numbers of A. ruficollis adults were captured on prism-shaped, primocane-mimicking traps that reflected light at a peak wavelength between 540–560 nm. In 2012 and 2013, field tests demonstrated that more A. ruficollis adults were captured on green emerald ash borer traps. Testing in 2014 reinforced the previous findings that A. ruficollis was most attracted to the green emerald ash borer traps. In 2013, it was noted that colored traps usually captured significantly more A. ruficollis males than females. This indicated a need to determine if there was a chemical cue used by A. ruficollis adult females to locate and oviposit on only blackberry primocanes and not floricanes.