Author
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Arbogast, Richard |
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Chini, Shahpar |
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Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/2004 Publication Date: 4/1/2005 Citation: Arbogast, R.T., Chini, S.R. 2005. Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Phralidae): spatial relationship between trap catch and distance from a source of emerging adults. Journal of Economic Entomology. 98(2):326-333. Interpretive Summary: Insect pests are a perennial problem in buildings, such as rice, flour and feed mills, warehouses, and retail stores, where they damage and contaminate susceptible commodities such as food products and animal feed. Pest management in these situations has relied heavily on chemical insecticides and fumigants, such as methyl bromide. With increasing emphasis being placed on integrated pest management to minimize pesticide risk, regular monitoring to detect and locate infestation has assumed greater importance. ARS scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Florida, have developed a new monitoring method that uses a combination of trapping and spatial analysis of trap catch by contour mapping. The value of the method lies in its ability to locate as well as detect infestation and in the utility of contour maps for documentation and communication. The maps provide graphic, easily understood evidence of insect infestation and the effectiveness of control measures. They are thus of considerable value in communicating insect problems among managers and maintenance, sanitation, and pest control personnel. The method will help reduce pesticide risk by guiding the timing and targeting of control applications, eliminating the need for routine preventive treatment, reducing the area treated with insecticides, and aiding in the application of nonchemical methods. The method has already gained some acceptance by the pest control and food processing industry, and acceptance is expected to expand Technical Abstract: The Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), was selected as a representative stored-product moth to test the validity of contour mapping of trap catch for pest monitoring in warehouses and retail stores. Three experiments, each replicated 5 times, were conducted in a 3.2 x 9.0-m aluminum shed. Each experiment involved placing pupae at a single release point and recording the numbers of emerging adult males captured after 24, 48, and 72 h in each of 4 pheromone-baited sticky traps attached to the walls of the shed, about 1.2 m above the floor. The experiments differed only with respect to the point of release. Consecutive contour maps of trap catch tracked the dispersal of emerging males from each point. As the moths dispersed and total trap catch increased, cumulative trap catch remained highest near the release points. The rate of capture increased during the first 24 h as moths began to emerge from the pupae, and then became nearly constant. The cumulative numbers captured by any trap after 24, 48, and 72 h decreased linearly with distance from the point of release. The observed spatial patterns of trap catch relative to sources of infestation and the inverse relationship of trap catch to distance from a source support the validity of contour mapping as a means of monitoring stored-product moths and locating foci of infestation. |
