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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #300770
Title: Attraction of the orange mint moth and false celery leaftier moth (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to floral chemical lures

Author
item Landolt, Peter
item Cha, Dong
item DAVIS, THOMAS - University Of Idaho

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2014
Publication Date: 4/2/2014
Citation: Landolt, P.J., Cha, D.H., Davis, T.S. 2014. Attraction of the orange mint moth and false celery leaftier moth (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to floral chemical lures. Journal of Economic Entomology. 107(2):654-660.

Interpretive Summary: The larvae of many species of moths cause direct economic damage to numerous vegetable crops. Researchers at the USDA-ARS Yakima Agriculture Research Laboratory, Wapato, Washington, evaluated a set of chemicals from flowers as potential attractants for moths that are vegetable pests, to be used in traps for pest monitoring or pest population control. They determined that the orange mint moth can be trapped with combinations of phenylacetaldehyde and either 4-oxoisophorone, methy-2-methoxy benzoate, or beta myrcene, while the false celery leaftier moth can be trapped with phenylacetaldehyde plus 4-oxoisophorone, cis jasmone, linalool, limonene, or beta-myrcene. These flower chemicals were attractive to both males and females of these two pest species This information provides strong chemical lures that can be useful for monitoring of the female moths, and may have potential for development of baits or attract-and-kill technologies to control pest populations and prevent damage to crops.

Technical Abstract: Orange mint moths, Pyrausta orphisalis (Walker) (Crambidae) were initially trapped in a study of noctuid moth attraction to floral volatiles. A subsequent series of trapping experiments in commercial mint fields determined that phenylacetaldehyde and 4-oxoisophorone are attractive to P. orphisalis, while benzyl acetate, eugenol, cis-jasmone, limonene, linalool, methyl-2-methoxy benzoate, methyl salicylate, B-myrcene, and 2-phenylethanol were not attractive. When used in combination with pheylacetaldehye, 4-oxoisophorone, methyl-2-methoxy benzoate, and B-myrcene increased catches of P. orphisalis in traps. A second crambid species, the false celery leaftier moth, Udea profundalis Packard, was also attracted to phenylacetaldehye in this study, but was not attracted to any other single-chemical lure tested. Cis-jasmone, limonene, linalool, B-myrcene, and 4-oxoisophorone increased catches of U. profundalis when presented in traps with phenylacetaldehyde. Both sexes of each species were attracted similarly to these lures. These findings provide chemical lures for trapping males and females of both P. orphisalis and U. profundales, and add to our understanding of taxonomic patterns of moth responders to flower volatiles.