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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 #319719
Title: Development and comparison of trunk traps to monitor movement of Halyomorpha halys nymphs on host trees

Author
item ACEBES-DORIA, ANGELITA - Virginia Tech
item Leskey, Tracy
item BERGH, JAMES - Virginia Tech

Submitted to: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/9/2015
Publication Date: 12/15/2015
Citation: Acebes-Doria, A.L., Leskey, T.C., Bergh, J.C. 2015. Development and comparison of trunk traps to monitor movement of Halyomorpha halys nymphs on host trees. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 158:44-53.

Interpretive Summary: Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a serious orchard pest in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Large populations of this invasive pest can develop on wild host trees adjacent to orchards and constantly move from these wild hosts to invade and infest vulnerable orchard crops. We evaluated several trap designs aimed at measuring dispersal of nymphal populations from wild hosts to orchard crops. We found that two, the so-called “Circle” and “Moeed and Meeds” traps, were superior at capturing nymphs walking up and down tree trunks, respectively. In the future, these traps will be used to establish when nymphs are most likely to leave wild host trees to establish periods of risk for cultivated orchard crops.

Technical Abstract: Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) has recently become a major orchard pest in the Mid-Atlantic, USA. Large H. halys populations can develop on wild tree hosts adjacent to orchards, posing an ongoing threat to fruit. Adults and nymphs feed on tree fruit causing economic injury. Understanding the seasonal patterns of nymphal host use among trees at the orchard-woodland interface may aid the development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies for this pest. In laboratory and field experiments, modified versions of published trap designs (“Circle”, “Hanula”, Moeed and Meads “M&M” traps) were compared for their effectiveness for capturing H. halys nymphs walking up and down tree trunks. In the laboratory, twenty 2nd instar nymphs were released at the top and bottom of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.). Swingle logs and captures were recorded after 24 h. Circle and M&M traps, respectively, were most effective for capturing nymphs walking up (80.63 plus or minus 4.76 SE percent) and down (49.38 plus or minus 6.08 SE percent). In the field, traps were deployed on Ailanthus trees next to apple orchards and captures were recorded weekly from 24 July to 11 September, 2013. As in the laboratory, Circle and M&M traps captured the greatest number of upward-walking (26.84 plus or minus 6.47 SE/trap/week) and downward-walking nymphs (4.53 plus or minus 1.12 SE/trap/week), respectively. Hanula traps were least effective in both experiments. In the field, 88 percent of total captures were of nymphs walking up trees. This was at least partially explained by behavioral assays in the laboratory showing that nymphs exhibited negative gravitaxis and positive phototaxis. Stage-specific trends in captures of nymphal instars walking up during field sampling were observed. These results suggest that trunk traps can be used to address important ecological questions about seasonal patterns of host use by H. halys nymphs.