Bisexual lures and their comparison with synthetic sex attractants for trapping Orthosia species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

Two bisexual lures have been developed using iso‐amyl alcohol plus acetic acid combined with red wine extract (semisynthetic bisexual lure, SBL), or synthetic floral compounds (FLO) for trapping of noctuid moths with early spring activity of adults. Orthosia species were attracted by the tested semi‐synthetic and synthetic lures indicating the possible role of the fermenting liquids and floral compounds in the feeding of these species. Bisexual lures attracted generally a lower number of individuals than the synthetic sex attractants of the given species, except for O. cerasi where FLO lures were more attractive than the sex attractant. Bisexual lures caught both sexes and females composed a sizable percentage of the catch. Since traps baited with different types of bisexual lures provided similar data on sex ratios, thus these presumably reflected the actual sex ratio of the given population. The use of these bisexual lures, especially of FLO in case of Orthosia spp., can be useful in surveys in which the capture of females and data on sex ratios are indispensable, for example in population dynamic and polyandry surveys. In contrast, in case of low population densities, the use of sex attractant lures seem to be still more efficient.

Wide Range of Brachyceran Fly Taxa Attracted to Synthetic and Semi-Synthetic Generic Noctuid Lures and the Description of New Attractants for Sciomyzidae and Heleomyzidae Families

“…Since the composition of the SBL is similar to that of fermenting liquids, its attractivity showed that these fly families prefer damaged parts or leaking sap of different plants. In other cases, this kind of volatile preference is characteristic for species living in forests and forest edges [ 21 , 26 , 28 , 43 ].…”

“…We used the standard CSALOMON ® VARL+ funnel traps, produced by the Plant Protection Institute, CAR ELKH (Budapest, Hungary) (www.csalomontraps.com accessed on 1 August 2023) [31,32]. The two types of generic noctuid lures tested were the same as described earlier [28,30] and were produced at the same institute where the traps were made: a semisynthetic bisexual lure (SBL) containing isoamyl alcohol (3-methyl-1butanol; frequently occurring in fermenting molasses) + acetic acid + red wine (1:1:1), and a synthetic floral lure (FLO) containing synthetic floral compounds (see below). Traps without baits were also set out for control.…”

“…), the attractivity of many compounds and mixtures was previously tested by us. In these studies, isoamyl alcohol-based and phenylacetaldehyde-based lures showed the highest efficiency [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Nontarget catches of traps with chemical lures may refer to the flower‐visitation, probable pollination, and feeding of bush crickets (Ensifera: Tettigoniidae)

“…In the experiments, two synthetic phenylacetaldehyde‐based (PHEN1 and PHEN2) and a semisynthetic bisexual isoamyl alcohol‐based lure (SBL, see also e.g. Szanyi et al, 2022 ) were used parallelly with unbaited control traps (UNB).…”