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Western Washington
Pheromone-trap Delimiting Survey and Field observations for European
Poplar Shoot Borer,
Gypsonoma aceriana (Duponchel) (Lepidoptera: Torticidae),
an Old World Poplar Pest new to North America. |
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Eric H. LaGasa1,
Patrik Hertzog2, Dan Barshis2, Kelley Turner2
and Hannah Smith2
2001 Entomology Project Report - WSDA PUB 034 (N/1/00) 2001 |
Project Methods and Materials |
Five hundred
and forty two pheromone-lure baited traps were placed in counties
along the Interstate-5 corridor in western Washington, from
the Canadian border south to Clark County on the Columbia River
/ Oregon border. Trap placement, by county, is presented in
Table 1. Traps were hung in roadside or residential yard Populus
spp. trees, primarily cottonwood and various ornamental poplar
varieties.
 Because
the principal survey objective was delimitation of EPSB in Western
Washington, project funding allowed only three months of field
activities, which limited most EPSB flight-season data collected.
Trap placement began in May, to allow for completion of all
initial trap sets by the beginning of expected adult moth flight
in late-June or early-July, and most traps were removed by the
end of July. To collect additional adult-flight information,
trapping in Pierce County, where EPSB captures were highest
in initial trap-captures, was continued until early-September.
Pherocon 2® type traps (a.k.a. "diamond" traps)
were used in this survey, based on trap performance in prior
WSDA CAPS surveys, ease of use, and the avoidance of small-bird
capture/mortality (which is a problem with other trap designs,
particularly “wing-traps”). Traps were baited with
pheromone-lures provided by the USDA APHIS Otis Methods Development
Center. The EPSB pheromone-lures consisted of gray rubber septa
(West Co., Lionville, PA.; cat.no. 1060-0275), each loaded with
0.1 ml (1 mg) of the following pheromone components (ISCA Technologies,
Inc., Riverside, CA) in an approximate 3:1 mix:
(E)-10-Dodecenyl acetate (0.725 mg/lure)
(E)-10-Dodecen-1-ol (0.275 mg/lure)
Pheromone lures were changed every two weeks as much as possible
during the observed period of adult flight. Traps with specimens
were processed at the Olympia Entomology Lab, where EPSB specimens
present were identified and counted. Selected sub-samples of
EPSB were removed from the traps with Hemo-D citrus based solvent
and had genitalia extracted and cleared (in KOH) to confirm
identification.
To document EPSB biology, several visits to positive trap sites
were conducted to collect and photograph life stages and host
plant damage. EPSB larvae and other unknown immature insects
found infesting poplar tips in May were also reared to the adult
stage and/or identified at the WSDA Olympia Entomology Lab.
Larvae were reared in individual containers, in the original
poplar host material as much as possible.
Digital image files created for this project were captured with
a Nikon® 990 camera, hand-held or mounted on a Leica®
MS5 microscope, and macro-photographic images were created using
daylight-corrected fiber-optic incandescent lighting and mylar
diffuser-filters. Images were also cropped, adjusted, and labeled
with Photoshop® 5.5. |
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