Recovery of Sweetpotato Vine Borer, Omphisa anastomosalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), in Sweetpotato Fields in Hawaii Through Field Collections and Detection Trapping

Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamarck, has been cultivated in Hawaii since at least 1778, with production increasing in recent years to the point where it was the top volume-producing vegetable crop in Hawaii in 2017. Sweet- potato production in Hawaii, though, is subject to several major insect pests that can adversely affect the quality and quantity of the crop. One such pest is the sweetpotato vine borer, Omphisa anastomosalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). A binary sex pheromone, recently identified through research with sweetpotato vine borer populations in Vietnam, has been shown to be comparably attractive in sweetpotato vine borer populations in Hawaii. Herein, research results are reported from tests where this improved sweetpotato vine borer sex attractant is used to assess the effect of trap type, trap height and trap spatial location on catch of male sweetpotato vine borer adults. The results presented here indicate that delta traps baited with the binary sex pheromone are good tools for population detection, with five times or more moth recovery and higher percentage detection relative to wing or Heliothis traps. Traps should be placed between 0.5 to 0.75 m above the sweetpotato foliage for best adult male moth recovery. Although moths are present throughout the sweetpotato field, as well as in near-border areas, trap catch may be more reliable towards the edges of the sweetpotato field. Also presented herein is some background on the biology of the sweetpotato vine borer that may be helpful for other researchers who seek to develop improved control of this insect pest