2011 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Attractant Development for Effective Adult Black Vine Weevil (BVW) Management. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) The BVW is often cited as the number one insect pest in the major nursery production areas throughout the United States, particularly the Pacific Northwest, as well as in northern Europe. Traditional management of the BVW centers on the use of insecticide sprays targeted at adults during their preoviposition period in an attempt to avert egg laying. However, nurseries continually have problems timing spray applications. The advent of effective adult attractants would revolutionize current BVW management programs. Not only will spray timing be vastly improved, but new management tactics such as mass trapping and attract and kill strategies may prove possible. 3.Progress Report The black vine weevil is often cited as the number one insect pest in the major nursery production areas throughout the United States, particularly the Pacific Northwest, as well as in northern Europe. Experiments were performed in a field-grown planting of Rhododendron. Attractants developed in the laboratory attracted 2.5-4.25 times the adult weevils over the untreated controls. In addition, we tested a variety of new experimental traps to use in combination with the attractive lure. Of the four experimental traps tested, one design was quite effective capturing nearly 50% of the adult weevils within a 24 hr period. We also took the optimal design to a commercial Rhododendron nursery were it outperformed all of the currently available traps. Traditional management of the BVW centers on the use of insecticide sprays targeted at adults during their preoviposition period in an attempt to avert egg laying. However, nurseries continually have problems timing spray applications. The advent of effective adult BVW attractants and suitable trapping systems will revolutionize current weevil management programs. Not only will spray timing be vastly improved, but new management tactics such as mass trapping and attract and kill strategies may prove possible in the future. The project was monitored by meetings, e-mail, and phone calls.