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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Genetics and Breeding Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #215208
Title: Insect-attracting and antimicrobial properties of antifreeze for monitoring insect pests and natural enemies in stored corn

Author
item Ni, Xinzhi
item GUNAWAN, GUNAWATI - UNIV OF GA
item BROWN, STEVE - UNIV OF GA
item SUMNER, PAUL - UNIV OF GA
item RUBERSON, J - University Of Georgia
item BUNTIN, G. DAVID - UNIV OF GA
item Holbrook, Carl - Corley
item LEE, R. DEWEY - University Of Georgia
item Streett, Douglas
item Throne, James
item Campbell, James - Jim

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/26/2007
Publication Date: 4/1/2008
Citation: Ni, X., Gunawan, G., Brown, S.L., Sumner, P.E., Ruberson, J.R., Buntin, G., Holbrook Jr, C.C., Lee, R., Streett, D.A., Throne, J.E., Campbell, J.F. 2008. Insect-attracting and antimicrobial properties of antifreeze for monitoring insect pests and natural enemies in stored corn. Journal of Economic Entomology. 101:631-636.

Interpretive Summary: Insect infestations in stored corn have caused significant economic losses to human food and animal feed industries. The pheromone-trapping technique used in storage insect management can attract mostly males of the lepidopteran pests. However, honey solution could attract higher percentage of female moths, but mold growth occurs in the trapping solution. We examined the efficacy of adding antifreeze into nutrient solutions (i.e., honey, beer, and sucrose) to trap storage insects. We found that addition of antifreeze not only eliminated mold growth, but also captured 48-49% female Indianmeal moths. In contrast, the combination of commercial pheromone traps with diluted antifreeze solution only attracted 7.6% female moths. The trapping solutions also attracted beetles and weevils in the stored corn. We also found that honey solution with antifreeze captured most number of a parasitoid wasp in the stored corn. The finding demonstrated the combination honey and antifreeze could be potentially used as a cost-effective technique to reduce storage insect pest populations, and to monitor their natural enemy populations.

Technical Abstract: Insect infestations in stored grain cause extensive damage worldwide. Storage insect pests including the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Sitophilus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and their natural enemies [e.g., Cephalonomia tarsalis (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), and Anisopteromalus calandrae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)] inhabit a temporary, but relatively stable ecosystem with relatively constant environmental conditions. The objective of the present experiment was to assess the efficacy of using ethylene glycol antifreeze in combination with nutrient solutions to monitor storage insect pest and natural enemy populations in three bins of corn. The treatments were de-ionized water, a diluted (1:5 antifreeze: water) antifreeze solution, 10% honey, 10% honey in the diluted antifreeze solution, 10% beer in the diluted antifreeze solution, 10% sucrose in the diluted antifreeze solution, and a commercial pheromone trap suspended in a 3.8-L container filled with 300-ml of diluted antifreeze solution. The seven treatments captured storage insect pests and their natural enemies in the bins at 33-36 °C and 51-55% RH. The pheromone trap in the container with the diluted antifreeze captured significantly more P. interpunctella than the other treatments, but a lower percentage (7.6%) of these captures were females when compared with the rest of the treatments (> 40% females). All trapping solutions also captured Sitophilus spp. and other beetle species, but the captures of the coleopteran pests were not significantly different among the seven treatments (P > 0.05). Two parasitoid wasps were also captured in the study. The number of A. calandrae was different among the seven treatments (P < 0.05), while the number of C. tarsalis was not different among the treatments (P > 0.05). Most A. calandrae adults were captured by the 10% honey in the diluted antifreeze, whereas the fewest were captured by the de-ionized water. Microbial growth was recorded in the 10% honey solution, but no microbial growth occurred in the rest of the treatments, including 10% honey in the diluted antifreeze solution. The results of insect captures and microbial growth demonstrated that antifreeze could be used as a part of storage insect monitoring and/or control programs.