Effect of pheromone release rate, plant volatiles and ratios of pheromone components on trap captures of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis in China

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) threatens to cause $669 billion in damages to urban forests in the U.S. if left uncontrolled. Developing an effective trapping system to detect this invasive woodborer has been a goal of the eradication program.  Our lab has spent the past 5 years developing and optimizing a plant volatile (PV) blend that is used in combination with a 2-component male produced pheromone (MP) to capture beetles. During the summer of 2012, lures were tested in China with different release rates of pheromone and different ratios of pheromone components. All treatments except an unlured control also contained a 3-component PV mixture. Ten blocks each containing 9 different treatments were setup in Harbin, China. Traps were checked every 3 days and rotated to control for position effects. A total of 42 beetles were caught over a 27-day period, including 24 females and 18 males. Lures that released MP at 1 mg/day and 4 mg/day at a 1:1 ratio both caught significantly more beetles than any other treatment. Lures releasing MP at 4 mg/day at 1:1 caught more beetles earlier in the season compared to the 1 mg/day treatment. Lures releasing MP at 8 mg/day at a 1:1 ratio only captured 1 beetle at the end of the experiment. The PV only treatment caught 6 male beetles. Results indicate that using a lure that releases MP at 4 mg/day (1:1) + PV is optimal for early season ALB catches. A PV only treatment may increase catches of male ALB.