Optimizing ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) monitoring using colored traps

Introduced populations of ambrosia beetles, mostly of Asian origin, have become a major problem at production nurseries in recent years.  Once established in a tree, ambrosia beetles can be difficult to control.  For pesticide applications to be effective, they need to be properly timed with beetle flights.  This can be accomplished through careful monitoring of ambrosia beetle flights using EtOH-baited traps, but further refinements of population monitoring methods will assist nurseries in protecting valuable tree crops.  The objective of this research was to test the effects of thirteen different colors of EtOH-baited traps on ambrosia beetle catch.