Comparing Performance of Synthetic Sex Attractants and a Semisynthetic Bisexual Lure in Orthosia and Conistra Species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

The performance of a semisynthetic bisexual lure (SBL, containing isoamyl alcohol, acetic acid and red wine) previously found attractive for a number of noctuids was compared with that of the respective synthetic sex attractants of Orthosia cerasi (=stabilis), O. cruda, O. gothica, O. incerta, Anorthoa munda and Conistra vaccini. The respective sex attractants performed significantly better in the Orthosia spp. than the SBL lure, which, although regularly catching low numbers of both females and males, did not differ significantly from zero catch in unbaited control traps. On the other hand, the SBL lure performed as well as the sex attractant in C. vaccini. Sizeable catches of C. rubiginea, C. rubiginosa and C. erythrocephala were also recorded in traps with the SBL lure. The SBL lure can prove to be a useful tool in ecological and faunistical studies of Conistra and related hibernating Xylenini species.

Semiochemical baited traps of lepidopteran pests of economic importance can deliver reliable data also on wide range of non-target species: case study in the Hajdúság Region of East Pannonian Lowland (East Hungary)

“…Former studies showed that isoamyl alcohol-based semi-synthetic lures can attract a wider range of Macroheterocera species and they are selective to Noctuinae and Xyleninae subfamilies. Contrary to this, phenylacetaldehyde-based lures are selective for Plusiinae and Heliothinae subfamilies (Nagy et al 2014, Szanyi et al 2019, Szanyi et al 2020. In this study, the selectivity of isoamyl alcohol-based lures and the selectivity of phenylacetaldehyde-based lures to the Plusiinae species could be proven.…”

“…From the neighbouring South Nyírség Region, which is a more forested and less intensively cultivated region with higher habitat diversity, 226 species were reported with use of the same volatiles, but lower sampling intensity (with four experiments) (Szanyi et al 2019). The high number of species caught reflected the wide attractivity of the tested volatiles (Nagy et al 2014, Szanyi et al 2019, Szanyi et al 2020, Tóth et al 2010.…”

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

“…These traps have routinely been used for trapping several noctuids (Tóth et al, 2010), including also Orthosia spp. (Szanyi et al, 2020); photos of the trap can be viewed at http://www.csalomontraps.com. For killing captured insects, a small piece (1 × 1 cm) of a household anti‐moth insecticide strip (Chemotox® SaraLee, Temana Intl.…”

“…The SBL lure tested was the same as described earlier (Szanyi et al, 2020; Tóth et al, 2015), with the active ingredients of iso‐amyl alcohol, acetic acid and red wine (1:1:1).…”

“…In a recent study, the SBL lure caught significantly less specimens of the Orthosia spp. than the respective sex attractants, although it caught regularly low numbers of both females and males (Szanyi et al, 2020). Since Orthosia are frequently observed to feed on catkins, the flowers of willow trees, it was thought to be worthwhile to test FLO, a phenylacetaldehyde‐based floral attractant for this group of pests for better results.…”