Inexpensive trap for monitoring green June beetle, Cotinis nitida

Green June beetle Cotinis nitida, L., is an important pest of turf, grapes, peaches, apples, brambles and ripening corn. In the range of occurrence, (Eastern and Southern USA), GJB causes yearly losses of $3.6 million, even if it is controlled by available means, which cost additional $3.4 million annually. Mass outbreaks occur during harvest thus insecticides cannot be used due to long pre-harvest and re-entry intervals that prohibit crop collection. Mating disruption, attract-and-kill stations, or cultural practices could be solutions, but these strategies require lures for GJB attraction and monitoring. Such lures are not available on the market. The Entomology Lab in MSU Mountain Grove has developed a prototype of inexpensive trap and lure against green June beetles. The trap is made of a PET bottle after soda and baited with isopropanol. Here we present result of studies on optimization of the design of this prototype. In particular, we verify effectiveness of the trap and lure in different habitats, delineate optimal rubbing alcohol concentration in the lure, and study effects of trap color on green June beetle attraction in the field, along with determining if GJB has any preference for height the traps are hang on.