Regional Variation in Captures of Male Paralobesia viteana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Monitoring Traps in Michigan Is Not Due to Geographical Variation in Male Response to Pheromone

Abstract

Paralobesia viteana (Clemens), grape berry moth, is a major pest of grapes in Eastern North America. There is substantial regional variation in the response of male P. viteana to sex pheromone-baited monitoring traps in Michigan vineyards. Males are readily captured in traps in the southwest region, whereas in the northwest very few males are captured, despite larval infestation in grapes in both regions. Y-tube olfactometers and field experiments determined the response of male moths from northern and southern populations to the pheromone blend used in monitoring lures and to females from both regions. In Y-tube choice tests, males responded similarly to the standard pheromone blend, and males did not preferentially choose females from either region. In field trials, traps baited with unmated females were deployed to test the preference of resident males for females from the two regions and for standard pheromone lures. In southwest Michigan vineyards, significantly more males were caught in traps with a 1.0-µg standard pheromone lure than in traps with captive females collected from vineyards in both regions or in traps with a blank lure control. A similar pattern of male captures among lure treatments was observed in northwest vineyards, although many fewer males were trapped and differences among treatments were not significant. We conclude that the observed regional differences in male response to pheromone traps are not caused by variation in pheromone-mediated behavioral responses, suggesting that other biotic and/or abiotic differences determine the regional variation in captures of this species.

Keywords: behavior assay; grape berry moth; sex pheromone; tortricid; viticulture.