Monday, December 10, 2001 -
D0069

Distant effect of pheromone used for mating disruption of gypsy moth

Ksenia S. Tcheslavskaia1, Alexei A. Sharov1, Kevin W. Thorpe2, and Carlyle C. Brewster1. (1) Virginia Tech, Department of Entomology, 216 Price Hall, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, (2) USDA-ARS, Insect Biocontrol Lab, USDA ARS, Bldg 402 Barc - East, Beltsville, MD

Racemic disparlure sprayed at doses of 37-75 g/ha AI for mating disruption of gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar L.) had a distant effect on male moth capture in pheromone traps and on mating success of tethered females up to 1000-2000 m from treated areas along the valley and 200-300 m across the valley. Distant effect of pheromone was strongest immediately after treatment and then gradually declined. In most areas it was stable for 20 days after treatment, but in some areas it was detectable even 40-47 days after treatment. The relationship between the mating success of females and male moth capture rate in pheromone traps in the areas affected by the pheromone was the same as in pheromone-free areas. This relationship can be used for predicting the mating success of females based on moth counts in traps.

Species 1: Lepidoptera Lymantriidae Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth)
Keywords: disparlure

The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA