Mating disruption of oriental beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in cranberry using retrievable, point-source dispensers of sex pheromone

Abstract

We evaluated the potential management of oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis (Waterhouse), in cranberry by disruption of communication between the sexes through application of the female sex pheromone deployed from wax disks in 2003 and 2004. Mean weekly catch of males in pheromone traps on each untreated bog minus that on each pheromone-treated bog was significantly greater than zero throughout the male flight period for both years of the experiment. Captures of males in traps placed on the edge of pheromone-treated bogs were intermediate between those on control and treated sites; thus, disruption may be limited a short distance from pheromone-treated plots, and treatment of surrounding areas that harbor beetles may be necessary. We deployed a limited number of tethered virgin females in the field for two nights in 2003; when returned to the laboratory, only females on control sites laid fertile eggs. In 2004, we assessed whether delayed mating occurred in the field by deploying tethered females within soil-filled pots and estimated mating rates over five nights by the presence or absence of fertile eggs within soil samples. Only one female among the treated sites laid fertile eggs, whereas the cumulative percentage of females laying fertile eggs in control sites rose steadily over five nights to 96%. The results of this study suggest the strong potential of mating disruption of oriental beetle in cranberry using retrievable, high-dose, point-source dispensers of pheromone. © 2006 Entomological Society of America.