Based on analysis of pheromone gland extracts, highly attractive new baits have been developed for three click beetle pests. That for Agriotes brevis is a mixture of geranyl butanoate and (E,E)-farnesyl butanoate, and that for A rufipalpis and A sordidus contains geranyl hexanoate alone. From known data from species populating Russia, optimized bait compositions for species in Central and Western Europe were developed as follows: geranyl octanoate + geranyl butanoate for A lineatus, geranyl isovalerate for A litigiosus, geranyl hexanoate + geranyl octanoate for A obscurus, geranyl butanoate alone for A sputator and (E,E)-farnesyl acetate alone for A ustulatus. Although slight differences were found in gland contents with A litigiosus var laichartingi and fenotypus typicus, nevertheless there were no differences in response to the optimum bait. There were no differences in pheromone composition or response to the optimized bait between the two morphological forms ('black' and 'red') of A ustulatus. As a result of these studies, highly effective pheromone baits are now available for monitoring and population reduction in all important pest click beetle species in Central and Western Europe.

In field tests in Europe, traps baited with a blend of isoamyl alcohol, acetic acid, and isobutanol (compounds previously found attractive to a number of noctuids in North America) caught the following noctuid moths: Agrotis segetum Schiff., Agrotis crassa Hbn., Agrotis exclamationis L., Amathes (Xestia) c-nigrum L., Apatele rumicis L., Amphipyra pyramidea L., Dipterygia scabriuscula L., Discestra trifolii Hfn., Euxoa aquilina Schiff., Euclidia glyphica L., Mamestra brassicae L., Mamestra oleracea L., Mamestra suasa Schiff., Mythimna albipuncta Den. & Schiff., Mythimna l-album L., Noctua pronuba L., and Trachea atriplicis L. A substantial percentage of the catch of each species of moths was females. The presence of isobutanol in the mixture was important for catching A. rumicis, D. trifolii, and E. glyphica. The addition of 3-methyl-1-pentanol to the ternary mixture did not increase trap captures of any of the moths. Traps baited with the floral attractant phenylacetaldehyde alone caught several species of noctuid moths. However, when phenylacetaldehyde was added to the isoamyl-alcohol ternary blend, no increases in catches of any of the species, relative to the ternary blend or phenyacetaldehyde alone, were observed, with catches of most species being depressed. Comparing the noctuid species attracted to the phenylacetaldehyde- and isoamyl alcohol-based lures showed that phenylacetaldehyde attracted predominantly Plusiinae and Melicleptriinae spp., while isoamyl alcohol-based lures attracted species mostly from the Noctuinae or Hadeninae subfamilies.

Abstract. At five sites in Hungary and Italy, traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde caught significantly higher numbers (10 to 100 times more) of green lacewings than unbaited traps, which demonstrates that this compound is an attractant. Traps with three bait dispensers usually caught more than those with one dispenser, but the difference was significant only at two out of five test sites. There was no difference in the numbers caught by sticky delta and funnel traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde. However, funnel traps could be adapted to catch living green lacewings. The vast majority of the specimens belonged to the Chrysoperla carnea species complex. Ch. carnea sensu lato dominated the catches at all sites. At some sites 3-11% of the insects caught were Ch. lucasina Lacroix. Phenylacetaldehyde-baited traps were attractive to both sexes, but generally more females were caught than males. Funnel traps baited with three dispensers of phenylacetaldehyde caught green lacewing adults throughout the season in Hungary.

Trap designs baited with the synthetic sex pheromone have been optimized for trapping of the western corn rootworm Diabrotica v. virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (WCR), which has recently been introduced into Europe. The best trap design proved to be the sticky "cloak" trap (code name "PAL"), which catches only males, and is being used in many countries of Europe for detection and monitoring the spread of the new pest. Preliminarily the range of attraction (as defined by Wall and Perry, 1987) of the pheromone traps was estimated to be <10 m. The performance of yellow sticky plates (used by others for monitoring of the pest) was insignificant as compared to the activity of the pheromone baited traps, and yellow colour had no discernible effect on catches in pheromone traps. The known floral lure of WCR containing 4-methoxy-cinnamaldehyde and indole proved to be active also towards the population in Europe, attracting both females and males. Yellow colour slightly increased catches by the floral lure, hence a yellow sticky "cloak" trap has been developed (code name PALs). Pheromone baited PAL traps caught a total of about 4 times more beetles than the floral baited PALs, which latter however appeared to be preferentially active for females. When placed into the same trap, the pheromonal and floral lures did not interfere with each other's activity.

While testing traps baited with a blend of geranyl octanoate and geranyl butanoate (pheromone components previously identified for Agriotes lineatus, Coleoptera, Elateridae) in Portugal and Bulgaria, large numbers of the closely related Agriotes proximus were captured. In the literature, two different compounds, (E,E)-farnesyl acetate and neryl isovalerate had previously been identified as pheromone components of A. proximus. Subsequent field tests, conducted in several European countries, revealed that A. proximus was weakly attracted to geranyl butanoate on its own, while A. lineatus was weakly attracted to geranyl octanoate on its own. However, the largest catches for both species were observed with a blend of both compounds. No A. proximus was caught in traps baited with the blend of (E,E)-farnesyl acetate and neryl isovalerate at any of the test sites. In electroantennographic studies, antennae of male A. proximus and A. lineatus both gave greater responses to geranyl butanoate than to geranyl octanoate, suggesting that the perception of these two compounds was similar for both species. A 1:1 blend of geranyl octanoate and geranyl butanoate can be used as a bait in traps for the detection and monitoring of both A. lineatus and A. proximus in many European countries.