Development of a pheromone trap monitoring system for orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana, in the UK

• Published in: Pest management science Vol. 63; no. 1; pp. 49 - 56
• Main Authors: Bruce, T.J.A, Hooper, A.M, Ireland, L, Jones, O.T, Martin, J.L, Smart, L.E, Oakley, J, Wadhams, L.J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 2007; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animal reproduction; Animals; application rate; Biological and medical sciences; butyrates; Control; Diptera; eclosion; Experiments; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; insect attractants; insect control; insect pests; Insects; IPM; Male; males; monitoring; Pest control; Pest Control - methods; pesticide formulations; pheromone; pheromone traps; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; plant pests; Protozoa. Invertebrates; Rubber; semiochemical; Sex Attractants - administration & dosage; Sex Attractants - chemistry; Sitodiplosis mosellana; Triticum - parasitology; Triticum aestivum; United Kingdom; wheat; United Kingdom; Europe; Western Europe; United Kingdom > UK; Cecidomyiidae; Monocotyledones; Insecta; IPM; monitoring; Cereal crop; Sex pheromone analogue; Population survey; Triticum; Pest; Gramineae; Arthropoda; Angiospermae; semiochemical; Attractive trap; Spermatophyta; wheat; pheromone; Invertebrata; Integrated pest management; Diptera; Semiochemicals
• ISSN: 1526-498X; 1526-4998
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.1307

Field-trapping experiments with synthetic 2,7-nonadiyl dibutyrate, the female-produced sex pheromone of the orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin), demonstrated that pheromone traps were highly attractive to males and caught very few non-target organisms. Different formulations of pheromone were tested to identify the optimum release rate and dispenser type for use in pheromone traps in the UK. Key findings were that racemic pheromone was as effective as enantiomerically pure (2S,7R)-2,7-nonadiyl dibutyrate, that release rates higher than 0.5 microgram day-1 were not necessary and that the optimal formulation was a 1 mg pheromone loading in a rubber septum. Pheromone traps gave a reliable indication of peak midge emergence, onset of flight and abundance of midges throughout the season. A strong correlation between maximum trap catch and crop infestation levels was obtained.