Effects of SPLAT^® GM sprayable pheromone formulation on gypsy moth mating success

Authors

Ksenia S. Onufrieva, Virginia TechFollow
Kevin W. Thorpe, USDA
Andrea D. Hickman, Virginia Tech
Patrick C. Tobin, USDA Forest ServiceFollow
Donna S. Leonard, USDA Forest Service
E. Anderson Roberts, Virginia Tech

Date of this Version

2010

Comments

Published in Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 136: 109–115, 2010. DOI: 10.1111/j.1570-7458.2010.01009.x

Abstract

Several integrated pest management programs rely on the use of mating disruption tactics to control insect pests. Some programs specifically target non-native species, such as the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae).We evaluated SPLAT ® GM, a new sprayable formulation of the gypsy moth sex pheromone disparlure, for its ability to disrupt gypsy moth mating. The study was conducted in 2006, 2007, and 2008 in forested areas in Virginia, USA. Mating success of gypsy moth females was reduced by >99% and male moth catches in pheromone-baited traps by >90%, in plots treated with SPLAT ® GM at dosages ranging from 15 to 75 g of active ingredient (a.i.) ha^-1. Dosage-response tests conducted in 2008 indicated that SPLAT ® GM applied at a dosage of 7.5 g a.i. ha^-1was as effective as a 15 g a.i. ha^-1 dosage.