Influence of trap colour, design and height on catch of flying clover root weevil adults

Abstract

Adult clover root weevil (Sitona lepidus, CRW) catches on sticky traps of different colours, design and height were evaluated in two field experiments carried out on the outskirts of Hamilton in the summer of 1999-2000. In Experiment 1, yellow cylinder traps placed at a height of 1200 mm caught the most CRW. In Experiment 2, both white and yellow cylinder traps placed at a height of 1200 mm were equally attractive to CRW adults. In both experiments, fewer CRW adults were caught on cylinder traps of all colours set 400 mm above the ground. Cylinder traps painted red, green and blue and set 1200 mm above the ground caught similar numbers of insects to traps of all colours set at 400 mm. In Experiment 2, flat traps with a sticky surface that was parallel to the ground caught very few weevils irrespective of their colour and height.