Control of insect pests on fruit and field crops with hexaflumuron in North Greece

Experiments with hexaflumuron have been made against pests on apples, pears, peaches, potatoes and maize. On apples a predefined spray program was used for the combined control of Cydia pomonella (L) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Phyllonorycter blancardella. (Fabr.) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), P. corylifoliella (Hbn) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Leucoptera scitella (Zell.) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) and Adoxophyes orana (F.v. Roslerstamm) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Sprays started when C. pomonella adults appeared and were continued every 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Against Cacopsylla pyri L. (Homoptera: Psyllidae), Anarsia lineatella Zell. (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and Grapholitha molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), trials were made to define efficacy and timing, while trials on Leptinotarsa decendineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and Sesamia nonagrioides Lef. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were only for efficacy. Hexaflumuron promised to be an excellent insecticide since it was at least as good as organophosphate standards, amitraz and the benzoylphenyl ureas (BPU) tested. With fewer sprays it gave seasonal and combined control on apple pests. It is a new BPU insecticide with low mammalian toxicity and fits IPM programs, since its toxicity to predators and parasites is low. Hexaflumuron had no effect on adults of the predator Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinelidae) in the potato trial. Sprays must start at the beginning of the oviposition of fruit damaging pests and at the egg or early larva-nymph stage of the foliage damaging pests. The spray must fully cover fruit and foliage.

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

Pheromone 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.

Hymenopterous parasites associated with Phyllonorycter blancardella [Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae] in Nova Scotia and Quebec

Mined leaves were collected in commercial and unsprayed (no insecticides) apple orchards of Quebec and Nova Scotia to determine the relative abundance and diversity of parasites of the spotted tentiform leafminer, Phyllonorycter blancardella [Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]. In Quebec, 29 species of leafminer parasites were recovered, belonging to 7 families: Aphelinidae, Braconidae, Chalcidae, Eulophidae, Ichneumonidae, Pteromalidae and Scelionidae. The most prevalent species were Pholetesor ornigis (67%), Sympiesis marylandensis (11%), S. serviceicornis (7%), Pnigalio maculipes (1.5%), Tetrasticus spp. (1.2%), while all other species accounted for < 1.0%. Pholetesor pedias, a braconid released in 1983 at Frelighsburg, Quebec, was not found in the 1984 and 1985 surveys. In Nova Scotia, 19 parasite species were recovered, belonging to 5 families : Braconidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Ichneumonidae and Pteromalidae. The most prevalent species were: Pholetesor ornigis (52%), Pnigalio maculipes (14%), Sympiesis serviceicornis (12%), S. marylandensis (9.5%), Sympiesis spp. (5%), Horismenus fraternus (1.8%), Paraleurocerus sp. (1.3%), Stictopisthus flaviceps (1.1%), while all other species accounted for < 1%. Seven and five species of hyperparasites were recovered in Nova Scotia and Quebec, respectively. New records for North America for the spotted tentiform leafminer as a host are : Sticopisthus bilineatus, S. flaviceps, Euderis sp., Pnigalio epilobii, P. pallipes and Paraleurocerus bicoloripes.

Interaction of photoperiod and temperature in the regulation of prediapause development in the spotted tentiform leafminer (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)

The spotted tentiform leafminer, Phyllonorycter blancardella (F.), overwinters in a photoperiodically induced state of pupal diapause. The critical day length (50% of leafminers enter diapause) for P. blancardella from latitudes of about 42–44°N in southwestern Ontario was 14.25 h at an average August temperature (Environment Canada 1993) of 20°C (Trimble 1994). The development time of actively growing larvae decreased with increased temperature, whereas the development time of diapause-destined larvae was not affected by temperature at the critical day length, suggesting a strong interaction between photoperiod and temperature in the regulation of prediapause development (Trimble 1994). This paper describes the interaction of photoperiod and temperature in the regulation of the rate of egg and larval development of diapausedestined leafminers in the laboratory and in semi-natural conditions.