Open AccessA COMPARISON OF TRAPPING TECHNIQUES FOR MYTHIMNA CONVECTA (WALKER) (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE)
Author(s) -
McDonald Garrick,
Farrow Roger A.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
australian journal of entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1440-6055
pISSN - 1326-6756
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-6055.1990.tb00331.x
Subject(s) - biology , wine , lepidoptera genitalia , noctuidae , trap (plumbing) , sugar , attraction , horticulture , population , botany , toxicology , food science , environmental science , linguistics , philosophy , demography , environmental engineering , sociology
Three trap types and 3 food lures were tested for their effectiveness in monitoring field populations of the common armyworm moth, Mythimna convecta (Walker). The traps comprised 1 UV light trap and 2 types of fermentation traps, namely a simple lure pail (‘lure pot'), into which the moths fell and drowned, and a cone trap built over a covered lure pot, the ‘FE trap'. The food lures comprised diluted port wine and sugar, red wine and sugar, and a synthetic lure. There was no significant difference in the attractiveness of wine and port lures, while the synthetic lure did not catch any moths. A vehicle‐mounted net provided an independent measure of airborne density and species composition of the noctuid population at 1 study site. The light trap did not catch many M. convecta. The 2 types of fermentation trap caught similar numbers of M. convecta , although the FE trap had several advantages over the lure pot: the dry moth catches were easier to recover; there was greater selectivity for M. convecta over other abundant noctuids, particularly Agrotis infusa (Boisduval); and the variation in nightly catches more accurately reflected those of the field populations of M. convecta , particularly those engaged in surface or trivial flight.