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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 #179718

Title: AN IMPROVED TRAP FOR MONITORING STINK BUGS (HETEROPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE) IN APPLE AND PEACH ORCHARDS

Author
item HOGMIRE,, HENRY - WEST VIRGINIA UNIV
item Leskey, Tracy

Submitted to: Journal of Entomological Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/29/2005
Publication Date: 8/1/2006
Citation: Hogmire,, H., Leskey, T.C. 2006. An improved trap for monitoring stink bugs (heteroptera: pentatomidae) in apple and peach orchards. Journal of Entomological Science. V41 p. 9-21.

Interpretive Summary: Stink bugs continue to pose a threat to both apple and peach orchards throughout the United States. The most common species encountered in eastern orchards is the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus. Although a pheromone was identified for this species and a number trap types baited with this pheromone have been evaluated, technology that effectively monitors this and other species of concern is still not available to growers. One of the problems associated with current trap designs in the likelihood of escape by stink bugs once they enter traps. Therefore we redesigned the capture mechanism associated with jar tops attached to yellow pyramid traps, reducing escape by 64%. We also deployed this type of trap within the canopies of fruit trees and found that this is both an effective deployment strategy in that we captured large numbers of stink bugs, but we also removed the trap from the ground beneath trees which is often inconvenient for growers trying to work in and around trees. We found that the pheromone bait is a more important stimulus than the color of the pyramid trap base. Yellow, green, white, and clear pyramid traps baited with the pheromone captured nearly identical numbers of stink bugs. Unbaited traps of all colors and baited black pyramid traps captured fewer stink bugs.

Technical Abstract: Capture of stink bugs in apple orchards with yellow pyramid traps baited with Euschistus spp. aggregation pheromone, methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoate, was four-fold greater when traps were topped with a 3.8 L jar with a 1.6 cm diam. opening and trimmed wire edging than with a 1.9 L jar with a 5 cm diam. opening with no wire edging. Stink bug capture in the 3.8 L jar top was unaffected by the presence or size of insecticide ear tag, indicating that this improved design led to increased captures by reducing escape. Sixty-four percent fewer stink bugs escaped from 3.8 L jar tops with the improved capture mechanism than from the 1.9 L jar tops. Green stink bug was more susceptible to the presence of the insecticide ear tag than brown stink bug, with dusky stink bug exhibiting high mortality in traps with and without ear tags. Among baited and unbaited pyramid traps with different visual stimuli, fewer captures were recorded in black pyramid traps than in clear, yellow, green or white pyramid traps. Similar numbers of brown stink bugs were captured in yellow pyramid traps deployed on the ground between trees or on horizontal branches within trees in the orchard border row, however, captures of dusky and green stink bugs were greater in the tree pyramid, especially from August to mid-October. Relationships between stink bug capture and tree injury will need to be determined before this trap can be incorporated as a decision-making tool in pest management programs.