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Background: Captures of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), in traps are used to establish action thresholds and time insecticide sprays. The need for frequent trap inspections in often remote orchards has created a niche for remote sensing smart traps. A smart trap baited with a five-component pheromone-kairomone blend was evaluated for codling moth monitoring among an assemblage of other nontargets in apple and pear orchards., Results: Codling moth captures did not differ between the smart trap and a standard trap when both were checked manually. However, the correlation between automatic and manual counts of codling moth in the smart traps was low, R 2  = 0.66 ÷ 0.87. False-negative identifications by the smart trap were infrequent <5%, but false-positive identifications accounted for up to 67% of the count. These errors were primarily due to the misidentification of three moth species of fairly similar-size to codling moth: apple clearwing moth Synanthedon myopaeformis (Borkhausen), oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Busck), and carnation tortrix Cacoecimorpha pronubana (Hübner). Other false-positive counts were less frequent and included the misidentifications of dipterans, other arthropods, patches of moth scales, and the double counting of some moths., Conclusion: Codling moth was successfully monitored remotely with a smart trap baited with a nonselective sex pheromone-kairomone lure, but automatic counts were inflated in some orchards due to mischaracterizations of primarily similar-sized nontarget moths. Improved image-identification algorithms are needed for smart traps baited with less-selective lures and with lure sets targeting multiple species., (© 2021 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Studies were conducted to identify volatiles released by apple foliage untreated or sprayed with a yeast and from untreated and sprayed foliage with actively feeding larvae of Pandemis pyrusana Kearfott. Field studies then evaluated various combinations of these volatiles when paired with acetic acid as possible adult attractants., Results: The most abundant volatiles released following herbivore feeding were four green leaf volatiles (GLVs) and acetic acid. Nineteen volatiles were found to be released in significantly higher amounts from foliage with herbivore damage than from intact leaves. The combination of yeast followed by herbivore injury increased the levels of methyl salicylate and phenylacetonitrile compared with herbivory alone. Levels of acetic acid released were not significantly different among the four treatments. Only phenylacetonitrile and 2-phenylethanol with acetic acid caught similar and significantly more total and female moths than acetic acid alone. Moth catches with 12 other volatiles plus acetic acid were not significantly higher than with acetic acid alone, and were lower than with acetic acid and 2-phenylethanol., Conclusion: These data show that herbivore injury does not create a unique chemical signal for adults to locate oviposition or rendezvous sites. Instead, moths may cue to the aromatic-acetic acid combination as a nutritional cue to locate sugary resources. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Drosophila suzukii is a major pest of cherry in the western United States. We evaluated whether the addition of sugary baits could improve the efficacy of two classes of insecticides not considered to be sufficiently effective for this pest, diamides and spinosyns, in laboratory and field trials in cherry., Results: Adding cane sugar alone or in combination with the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Aureobasidium pullulans significantly improved insecticide efficacy. However, the significance of adding yeasts to the sugar plus insecticide on fly mortality varied with respect to both the insecticide and yeast species. The addition of S. cerevisiae to sugar also did not significantly reduce egg densities in fruit compared with sugar alone. The addition of a yeast plus sugar significantly reduced egg densities in three field trials with cyantraniliprole and in two out of three trials with spinosad., Conclusion: The addition of cane sugar with or without yeast can improve the effectiveness of diamide and spinosyn insecticides for D. suzukii in cherry. Inclusion of these two insecticides in D. suzukii management programs may alleviate the strong selection pressure currently being imposed on a few mode-of-action insecticide classes used by growers to maintain fly suppression over long continuous harvest periods of mixed cultivars. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA., (Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

Background: The possibility of improving the efficacy of various insecticides for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), by the addition of a microencapsulated formulation of pear ester, ethyl (2E, 4Z)-2,4-decadienoate (PE-MEC, 5% AI), was evaluated in field trials in apple from 2005 to 2009., Results: The addition of PE-MEC (<3.0 g AI ha(-1) ) significantly lowered fruit injury with low rates of organophosphate and neonicotinoid insecticides. The addition of PE-MEC (1.48 g AI ha(-1) ) to maximum label rates of insecticides with moderate activity for codling moth, such as ebamectin benzoate, spinosad and methoxyfenozide, significantly improved their effectiveness. However, PE-MEC did not consistently improve the activity of maximum label rates of either rynaxypyr or spinetoram. The addition of PE-MEC with seasonal spray programs of acetamiprid and azinphos-methyl in combination with the use of sex pheromones for mating disruption provided the most effective control., Conclusion: The addition of PE-MEC can improve the effectiveness of some insecticides for codling moth in apple. Insecticides active via dermal toxicity are more strongly improved by the addition of PE-MEC. Season-long use of PE-MEC can also augment the effectiveness of mating disruption. Adding PE-MEC to variable integrated management programs for C. pomonella should be further investigated., (This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), has been intensely managed with the organophosphate insecticide azinphos-methyl for 50 years, and populations have developed resistance. New management programs have been developed and implemented that rely more heavily on other classes of insecticides. A prerequisite for developing effective resistance management strategies for these compounds is to establish their current levels of effectiveness. Adult and neonate larval assays were conducted to assess the response of field-collected codling moth populations from apple in Washington State., Results: Male codling moth populations exhibited a range of responses to a discriminating concentration of azinphos-methyl in a survey of 20 populations. Populations from certified organic orchards were more susceptible than those from conventional orchards. Mean fecundity was inversely related to azinphos-methyl tolerance. Male responses to azinphos-methyl and acetamiprid varied significantly among populations and were correlated. The residual effectiveness of field applications of both insecticides varied significantly against neonate larvae. Neonate bioassays with insecticide-dipped fruit found significant differences among populations with azinphos-methyl, acetamiprid, methoxyfenozide and spinosad, but not with esfenvalerate., Conclusion: These results support a concern that alternation of insecticides with different modes of action may not be a sufficient strategy to avoid the evolution of broad-spectrum insecticide resistance by codling moth., (Published 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Studies surveyed the toxicity of several insecticides against adult codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), and examined the field effectiveness of applying low-volume (12 L ha(-1)) sprays alone or in combination with a microencapsulated (MEC) sex pheromone formulation., Results: Neonicotinyls, organophosphates and synthetic pyrethroids significantly reduced fecundity at concentrations nearly 100-fold lower than their maximum labeled field rate. Field studies in 2005 demonstrated that six applications of esfenvalerate resulted in > 90% reduction in fruit injury versus the untreated check. The addition of the MEC pheromone formulation did not further improve control. Five sprays of esfenvalerate, phosmet and acetamiprid all significantly reduced levels of fruit injury compared with the untreated control in 2006. Esfenvalerate and acetamiprid mixed with the MEC pheromone significantly reduced fruit injury compared with the MEC-only treatment. Significant increases in pest and decreases in predator mite densities occurred in plots treated with esfenvalerate in both years. Low-volume sprays of phosmet and acetamiprid did not disrupt mites., Conclusion: Low-volume insecticide sprays can effectively manage codling moth and are less disruptive of integrated mite management. Developing an effective 'attract and kill' technology with this approach will require optimization of the attractant(s) to maximize moth exposure to insecticide residues., (Published 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The influence of the anthranilic diamide insecticide chlorantranilipole (DPX-E2Y45; Rynaxypyr against the adult stage of codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., was examined. Insecticide residues in plastic cups sprayed with 56 mg AI L(-1) (equivalent to the recommended field rate) had a minimal effect on adult survival or fecundity, but significantly fewer female moths were mated in treated than in untreated cups. Similar results were found in field studies with adults placed in screened cages on treated apple foliage for up to 3 weeks. Mating was disrupted when either sex was topically dosed with technical material (0.01-0.1 microg). Males were more sensitive to the disruptive effects of chlorantranilipole than females. A 2 h exposure significantly reduced male activity (walking and wing fanning), but not female calling. A 25 h exposure significantly reduced the activity of both sexes. The proportion of males landing near a sex pheromone source in a flight tunnel was significantly reduced following exposures of 2-4 h and completely eliminated following a 17 h exposure. Male moths partially recovered from either topical or residual exposure to chlorantranilipole, but the extent of their recovery was dose and time dependent. Male response to sex pheromone recovered within 2 h following a 4 h exposure, but following a 17 h exposure only a partial recovery occurred after 48 h. Mating by moth pairs exposed to chlorantranilipole residues for 24 h did not significantly increase during recovery periods of 24-96 h, except in cups treated with 10% of the standard concentration. The proportion of field-collected female codling moths caught in pear ester-baited traps that were mated was significantly lower in apple orchards treated season-long with chlorantranilipole compared with females caught in either untreated orchards or those treated with sex pheromones to cause mating disruption.

This multi-author paper reviews current work by USDA-ARS scientists in the field of chemical ecology. Work with pheromones, the discovery and development of the codling moth kairomone, studies on insect-plant interactions and chemically mediated tritrophic plant-insect interactions have led to practical methods for control of important insect pests.