Effectiveness of Pitfall Trap Colors in Monitoring Adults of Blister Beetle Meloe proscarabaeus Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in Faba Bean Fields at El-Farafra Oasis Egypt

Abstract

The blister beetles Meloe proscarabaeus Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Meloidae), is a dangerous pest that threatens the agriculture of faba bean fields in El-Farafra Oasis, New Valley Governorate. In this study, an evaluation of the efficiency of different pit-fall trap colors for capturing adults of the blister beetles has been performed in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) fields. The experiment revealed that the green and red traps showed the highest number of captured beetles during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which was highly significant to other traps’ colors. On the other hand, black, blue, gray, white, and yellow traps showed insignificant differences in the number of captured beetles. Concerning the sex of trapped beetles; it could be highlighted that the green trap attracted more female beetles than males with significant differences. Inversely, the red color trap attracted more males than females with significant differences. Approximately 40% of the captured beetle population was recorded in March, while only 11% were trapped in April. A Green pit-fall trap could be deemed a new estimating assay to suppress M. proscarabaeus adults in faba bean fields since the color trap variation affected the number of captured beetles. Therefore, color traps can be relied upon as an effective method in controlling beetles without the number of beetles reaching the limit of economic damage and in a manner that is safe for the environment