The Relationship between Polarized Moonlight and the Number of Pest Microlepidoptera Specimens Caught in Pheromone Traps

Abstract

AbstractPheromone traps were deployed in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County (Hungary) between 1982 and 1988, in 1990 and also between 1993 and 2013. These traps attracted 8 Microlepidoptera species:Phyllonorycter blancardella, P. corylifoliella,Anarsia lineatella,Eupoecilia ambiguella,Lobesia botrana,Grapholita funebrana,G. molestaandCydia pomonella. We examined the trapping data of these species in the context of lunar phases and polarized moonlight. Catches of the European Vine Moth (Lobesia botrana) and the Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) were higher in the First Quarter, whereas catches of Peach Twig Borer (Anarsia lineatella), Vine Moth (Eupoecilia ambiguella), Plum Fruit Moth (Grapholita funebrana) and Oriental Fruit Moth (Grapholita molesta) were larger in the Last Quarter. Catches of the other two species, the Spotted Tentiform Leafminer (Phyllonorycter blancardella) and Hawthorn Red Midget Moth (P. corylifoliella), were higher in both the First and Last Quarters. When using pheromone traps, insects do not fly to a light source, so moonlight does not modify either the catching distance or flight activity. However, at high levels of polarized moonlight, pheromone trap catches will increase, as in the case of light-trap catches. The results are comprehensible when one considers that the target species can fly both during the daytime and also at night.