Sampling of the cowpea curculio, Chalcodermus aeneus, with traps in southern peas

The cowpea curculio, Chalcodermus aeneus (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the key pest of southern pea or cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.), in Georgia and elsewhere in the southeastern USA. There has never been an effective trapping method reported for this pest. We developed a modified Tedder's trap that was tested against standard boll weevil traps and yellow sticky traps. The new trap detected C. aeneus adults earlier and in greater numbers than the other trapping methods. The new trap was used to monitor weekly movement of C. aeneus adults for two annual cycles in 2012 and 2013 at multiple locations. The detection of adults was consistent with early spring movement from overwintering sites followed by a summer generation and a fall generation. No adults were collected in traps from the end of December to the end of March. The temporal distribution of C. aeneus in traps over the season suggests three distinct periods of adult activity from mid-April to mid-June, late-July to early-October and then mid-November to mid-December. The utility of monitoring C. aeneus for regional management strategies is discussed.