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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #408572
Research Project: Postharvest Protection of Tropical Commodities for Improved Market Access and Quarantine Security

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: Diel flight activity in response to attractants in the predatory beetle, Cathartus quadricollis (Coleoptera: Silvanidae) in macadamia nut in Hawaii

Author
item Acebes-Doria, Angelita
item Hamilton, Lindsey
item Follett, Peter

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/16/2024
Publication Date: 3/4/2024
Citation: Acebes-Doria, A.L., Hamilton, L.J., Follett, P.A. 2024. Diel flight activity in response to attractants in the predatory beetle, Cathartus quadricollis (Coleoptera: Silvanidae) in macadamia nut in Hawaii. Journal of Economic Entomology. 117(2):666-669. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae034.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae034

Interpretive Summary: This is a behavioral study investigating the 24-hr flight activity of Cathartus quadricollis, an important predator of coffee and macadamia scolytine beetle pests in Hawaii, in response to aggregation pheromone and fungal volatile attractants. Twenty-four hour trapping experiments were conducted at different months throughout the year. Flight activity was consistently highest at the end of the day through the early evening period, with smaller bouts of activity after sunrise, between 7-9am. During active flight periods, flight activity was low at higher wind speeds. Results have implications on pest management strategies including biological control.

Technical Abstract: The diel flight activity in Cathartus quadricollis (Guerin-Meneville) (Coleoptera: Silvanidae), a predator of two important pests in Hawaii, coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) and tropical nut borer, Hypothenemus obscurus) (F.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) was studied in a macadamia nut orchard using yellow sticky traps baited with pheromone and fungal volatile attractants. The study was conducted at different months throughout the year and at different times during the lunar cycle (new moon, full moon). Flight activity peaked in the late hours of the photophase into the early hours of the scotophase, between 1830-2000 hours; flight activity also occurred but to a lesser extent in the early morning hours between 0700 and 0900 hours. Numbers of captured C. quadricollis during periods of flight activity were negatively correlated with wind speed. The implications of these findings for the development of optimal pest management strategies including biological control are discussed.