Investigating the early season attraction of semiochemical lures on cucumber beetles and non-target insects

This study investigated the early-season attractiveness of semiochemical lures to striped and spotted cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi, respectivly) to develop an early season trap-out strategy. Early in the year, striped cucumber beetles find hosts and begin emitting vittatalactone to attract conspecifics, however other species such as spotted cucumber beetles are also attracted. If a similar signal can be used to trick beetles into trapping stations before their hosts appear, it may reduce pest pressure later in the season. In this study various semiochemical lures, including vittatalactone, indole (an aromatic plant compound), and TIC (a combination trimethoxy benzene, indole, and trans-Cinnamaldehyde, all aromatic plant compounds) were utilized. These lures formed six treatments: vittatalactone, indole, TIC, vittatalactone+indole, vittatalactone+TIC, and unbaited control. Each treatment was replicated five times at different locations in Blacksburg and Riner, Virginia, with each trapping station including a post with a clear dual-panel sticky trap. Trapping occurred over a 6 week period starting on 5 May, 2023. The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of each lure for attracting the target pests, and to evaluate their potential for use as a pest management tool in cucurbit production. Captures of cucumber beetles and pollinators were compared between treatments. TIC and Indole alone performed similar to control traps, while vittatalactone, and vittatalactone+indole performed similarly and captured elevated beetle numbers compared to treatments without vittatalactone. The vittatalactone+TIC combination captured significantly more cucumber beetles than all other treatments. There was little to no impact on total pollinators.