THE BIOLOGY AND PHEROMONE-BASED MONITORING OF THE DRIEDFRUIT MOTH, VITULA EDMANDSAE SERRATILINEELLA (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE)

Abstract

AbstractIn western Canada, three wax-infesting moth species are serious pests of honey bee products, Vitula edmandsae serratilineella Ragonot, Achroia grisella (F.), and Plodia interpunctella (Hübner). The latter two species are found only in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, while the driedfruit moth (sometimes called the bumble bee wax moth), V. edmandsae, is found throughout western Canada.Three female-produced pheromone components of V. edmandsae were identified as (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadien-1-ol, (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol, and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol, and field tested. Pheromone baits were used in traps outdoors and in bee equipment storage facilities in the Fraser and Okanagan valleys of British Columbia. The peak indoor trapping period occurred during May in the Okanagan Valley, while catches in indoor traps in the Fraser Valley were negligible throughout the entire trapping period. Catches in outdoor traps peaked during July in both regions. Traps baited with (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadien-1-ol, alone or in binary combination with (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol, were significantly more attractive to male V. edmandsae than all other treatments tested. At one apiary, cumulative moth catch from a trap line 1.0 m from hives was significantly greater than that from a trap line 4.5 m away. The results suggest that a pheromone-based monitoring and control program for V. edmandsae is feasible.