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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #149917
Title: DISCRIMINATION BY MALE DOGWOOD BORER, SYNANTHEDON SCITULA HARRIS (LEPIDOPTERA: SESIIDAE) TO TRAPS BAITED WITH COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE PHEROMON LURES

Author
item BERGH, J. CHRISTOPHER - ASST PROF, VA TECH
item Leskey, Tracy
item ZHANG, AIJUN - RES CHEMIST, BARC

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2003
Publication Date: 4/1/2004
Citation: Bergh, J., Leskey, T.C., Zhang, A. 2004. Discrimination by male dogwood borer, synanthedon scitula harris (lepidoptera: sesiidae) to traps baited with commercially available pheromon lures. Journal of Economic Entomology. 97:344-352

Interpretive Summary: As greater restrictions are placed on use of conventional insecticides to control insect pests of tree fruit, the importance of effective monitoring systems to detect insect pests in orchard ecosystems grows. The dogwood borer is a pest of apple planted on dwarfing rootstocks. Many dwarfing rootstocks produce burr knot tissue below the graft union which is a favored egg laying site for female dogwood borers. Larvae eventually consume burr knot tissue leading to feeding on cambial tissue which can kill and girdle trees. Commercially available pheromone lures for monitoring dogwood borer have been reported to vary widely in their effectiveness. We evaluated four commercially available pheromone lures in commercial apple orchards in Virginia and West Virginia and found that those produced by Scenturion were more attractive and more selective for dogwood borer. However, data collected on adult emergence based on weekly collections of fresh pupal cases from apple trees suggest that Scenturion does not accurately reflect pest phenology or population density. The ability to accurately monitor dogwood borer activity in apple orchards will improve only when the pheromonal components from female dogwood borer are identified specifically.

Technical Abstract: The response of male dogwood borer, Synanthedon scitula (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) to four commercially available pheromone lures and to pheromone source concentration was evaluated in field trapping studies in commercial apple orchards in Virginia and West Virginia. Male peachtree borer, Synanthedon exitiosa (Say), lesser peachtree borer, Synanthedon pictipes (Grote and Robinson), and lilac borer, Podosesia syringae (Harris), were also captured in traps baited with all lures tested. Among the lures used, the Scenturion dogwood borer lure was the most attractive to and selective for dogwood borer. Male dogwood borer showed a concentration-dependent response to traps baited with different source concentrations of the pheromone from Scenturion. Chemical analyses revealed that all lures contained principally (Z,Z)-3,13 ODDA but that a significantly or numerically higher percentage of (E,Z)-3,13 ODDA was present in the Scenturion lure, compared with the others. Emergence data based on weekly collections of fresh male and female pupal exuviae from apple trees during the first period of flight activity of overwintering dogwood borer suggested that the Scenturion lure did not accurately reflect either phenology or population density.