Improving Bisexual Lures for the Silver Y Moth Autographa gamma L. and Related Plusiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

The addition of synthetic eugenol and benzyl acetate to the known floral chemical and moth attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized attraction of the silver Y moth Autographa gamma, an important noctuid pest. Traps baited with the ternary blend caught 2 to 6 times more A. gamma moths than traps baited with phenylac-etaldehyde alone. Both female and male moths were attracted, supposedly in the natural sex ratio of the local population. More A. gamma were caught when the blend was formulated in dispenser types with higher release rates. Traps baited with the ternary lure in polyethylene bag dispensers caught 20% to 34% as many moths as were caught in traps baited with synthetic sex pheromone, suggesting that this improved bisexual lure could be efficient enough to yield a new tool for detection and monitoring of female and male A. gamma, for more reliable plant protection decisions. The same ternary lure also improved trap catches of moths over phenylacetaldehyde alone for the plusiinae pests MacDunnoughia confusa (in Europe) and Autographa californica (in North America) and for the Noctuinae cutworm Xestia c-nigrum (in North America).