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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #333817
Research Project: Productive Cropping Systems Based on Ecological Principles of Pest Management

Location: Integrated Cropping Systems Research

Title: Attraction of Diabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to eugenol-baited traps in soybean

Author
item Hesler, Louis

Submitted to: Great Lakes Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/6/2016
Publication Date: 5/16/2017
Citation: Hesler, L.S. 2017. Attraction of Diabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to eugenol-baited traps in soybean. Great Lakes Entomologist. 49:163-168.

Interpretive Summary: The northern corn rootworm (NCR) is a native North American leaf beetle and a major pest of corn throughout the Midwest. NCR adults forage in various habitats outside of corn fields, including soybean, roadside vegetation, and prairie. Eugenol is a common floral volatile that has been shown to increase the catch of NCR on adhesive traps within corn fields and prairie habitat. This article is the first to report increased catch of NCR on eugenol-baited traps in soybean fields. In two successive tests, catch of NCR was increased more than eight-fold by baiting traps with eugenol compared to alcohol-baited control traps. The attraction of NCR to eugenol-baited traps in soybean fields expands the potential for understanding the movements of this beetle among crops and other habitats within the agricultural landscape, which may help in designing improved management strategies for this pest.

Technical Abstract: Diabrotica barberi Smith and Lawrence (the northern corn rootworm) is a native North American leaf beetle and a major pest of corn. However, adult D. barberi forage in various habitats outside of corn, including soybean, roadside vegetation, and prairie. Eugenol is a common floral volatile that has been shown to increase trap catch of D. barberi within corn and prairie habitat. This paper documents the first report of increased catch of D. barberi on eugenol-baited traps in soybean fields. In two successive tests, catch of D. barberi was increased eight-fold or more by baiting traps with eugenol compared to ethanol-baited control traps. The attraction of D. barberi to eugenol-baited traps in soybean expands the potential for using such traps in determining the landscape-wide spatial and temporal dynamics of this beetle.