Catch me if you can: the influence of refuge / trap design, previous feeding experience, and semiochemical lures on vine weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) monitoring success.

BACKGROUND: Vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus F. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is one of the most economically important pest species of berry and ornamental crops globally. Monitoring this nocturnal pest can be difficult and time consuming and the efficacy of current tools is uncertain. Without effective monitoring tools, implementation of integrated pest management strategies is challenging. This study tests the relative efficacy of a range of vine weevil monitoring tools. Whether host-plant volatiles and weevil feeding experience influence vine weevil capture is also tested. RESULTS: Monitoring tool efficacy differed overall between the six monitoring tool designs tested and ranged from catches of 0.4 % to 26.7 % under semi-field conditions. Previous feeding experience influenced vine weevil behaviour. In yew conditioned populations, 39 % of the weevils responded to and were retained in the trap baited with yew foliage while 37 % of weevils from Euonymus fortunei conditioned populations responded to and were retained in the trap baited with E. forunei foliage. A simple synthetic lure consisting of (Z)-2-pentenol + methyl eugenol also increased vine weevil catches compared with an unbaited trap. CONCLUSION: Demonstrating differences in the efficacy of different monitoring tool designs is an important first step for developing improved methods for monitoring vine weevil populations within crops. This study presents the first direct comparison of vine weevil monitoring tool designs and indicates that trap efficacy can be improved by baiting with host-plant material or a synthetic lure based on host-plant volatiles. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved