Pine Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Population Monitoring in Christmas Trees Using Volatile Host Compounds

Abstract

The eastern pine weevil, Pissodes nemorensis Germar, and the pales weevil, Hylobius pales (Herbst), are major pests of pine production in eastern North America. Ethanol- and turpentine-baited pitfall traps and flight traps, and pit traps baited with fresh pine billets, were used to characterize weevil species composition in north-central Kentucky (USA) and assess seasonal activity by exploiting the weevils' attraction to host plant volatiles. During the 1998 growing season, P. nemorensis was the predominant species, comprising over 95% of the total trap catch for the season. Weevils were most responsive to fresh pine billets in pit traps, followed by ethanol- and turpentine-baited flight traps, and ethanol- and turpentine-baited pitfall traps. The sex ratio of P. nemorensis captured in pit traps was male biased, and in pitfall traps it was weakly female biased. Flight trap catch in traps placed 0.8 m above ground level was female biased. More weevils were captured in flight traps at 0.8 m than in flight traps at 1.6 m. Catches were greatest in traps placed perpendicular to the slope. Although H. pales was present at the site, numbers captured were too low to statistically assess trap efficacy.