Increased catch of female codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in kairomone-baited clear delta traps

Abstract

The relative performance of a clear delta trap baited with individual or combination sex pheromone and kairomone lures for codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., was evaluated against three vertical clear pane and colored delta traps in field trials within apple, Malus domestica (Borkhausen). The clear caught significantly more moths of each sex than an orange delta trap when baited with ethyl (E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate (pear ester) and acetic acid (PE+AA) and performed similarly to oil-coated pane traps. The clear caught significantly more females than the orange delta trap with pear ester alone, pear ester plus (E,E)-8,10-dodecadien-l-ol (codlemone) (PE-PH), or a combination of PE-PH and acetic acid. Male moth capture was similar in both clear and colored delta traps with all codlemone lures tested. Seasonal moth catches of female moths were higher in clear than either white (second flight, 2008) or orange (first and second flights, 2009) traps baited with PE-PH. Total moth catch was significantly higher in clear than white traps in 2008 and did not differ between clear and orange traps in 2009. Clear traps baited with acetic acid but not with pear ester, PE-PH, or when unbaited caught significantly more nontarget moths than colored traps. These studies suggest that the use of clear traps with their higher captures of female codling moths could improve both monitoring programs and the development of lure and kill strategies.