Relative attractiveness of colour traps to pear psylla in relation to seasonal changes in pear phenology

Authors: Cooper, William - Rodney; Puterka, Gary; Glenn, David

Submitted to: The Canadian Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/27/2009
Publication Date: 3/15/2010
Citation: Cooper, W.R., Puterka, G.J., Glenn, D.M. 2010. Relative attractiveness of colour traps to pear psylla in relation to seasonal changes in pear phenology. The Canadian Entomologist. 142(2):188-191.

Interpretive Summary: Pear psylla is a significant pest in pear orchards. Yellow traps are commonly used to monitor psylla populations during summer months, but are not effective during winter months when pear psylla populations are low. This study presents temporal color trap preference of pear psylla over a 24 month duration. Black, blue, brown, clear, green, orange, red, white, and yellow traps were assayed against wild psylla populations. While pear psylla had a strong preference for yellow and orange during summer months, psylla showed a slight preference for red traps during winter months and no preference in the early spring. These results could lead to the development of effective winter monitoring tools for pear psylla to predict subsequent spring outbreaks.

Technical Abstract: This study presents temporal color trap preference of pear psylla (Cacopsylla pyricola Foerster, Hemiptera: Psyllidae) over a 24 month duration. Black, blue, brown, clear, green, orange, red, white, and yellow traps were assayed against wild psylla populations. While pear psylla had a strong preference for yellow and orange during summer months, psylla showed a slight preference for red traps during winter months and no preference in the early spring. The implications of these results regarding monitoring tools and the use of particle film technology for pest management are discussed.