Population control of small sucking insects has been challenging, and alternative control methods are constantly being sought. Visual traps have long been used to monitor and control pests. Colored sticky cards are widely used for diurnal pests, but their effects are influenced by environmental light conditions. Artificial light traps are mostly used for nocturnal pests. Here, we explored and evaluated light-emitting diode (LED) traps for the monitoring and control of small diurnal sucking insects using greenhouse tests targeting the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum. We tested the trapping efficacy of the LED water pan trap, assessed the most attractive LED light and analyzed its efficacy under different weather conditions. The results showed that the LED water pan trap was too inefficient to be useful. Green LEDs were more attractive than yellow LEDs, UV LEDs and green-UV combinations. Regardless of sunny or cloudy conditions, the green LED trap caught more than twice the number of whiteflies than the yellow sticky card alone under summer shading conditions. Our study suggests that LED traps have a significant field application value in whitefly mass trapping and may also be efficient for other diurnal insects. The design of LED traps specific for diurnal insects is discussed.
Keywords: attractive light; environment light intensity; field evaluation; light trap; phototaxis.