Effect of mating disruption and lure load on the number of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) males captured in pheromone traps

A series of experiments examined the potential for using pheromone lures to monitor Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), in the presence of mating disruption. When males were released in either the presence or absence of commercial mating disruption dispensers, the number of males captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures increased with doses of 1–30 mg per lure (compared to 1–2 mg used in commercial monitoring lures). More males were captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures than in traps baited with females as a pheromone source. The proportion of males captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures vs. traps with females as a pheromone source changed with male age, but not with exposure to mating disruption dispensers. Male interaction with mating disruption dispensers was observed, and suppression of male capture in female-baited traps was quickly lost when mating disruption dispensers were removed. Implications of these findings for monitoring and semiochemical control of P. interpunctella are discussed.

► Equal number males captured with 1–30 mg lures with or without mating disruption. ► Mating disruption suppressed males in female-baited traps. ► Suppression lost as soon as dispensers removed. ► Preference for high-load pheromone over females decreased with age.