Effect of trap color and height on captures of blunt-nosed and sharp-nosed leafhoppers (hemiptera: cicadellidae) and non-target arthropods in cranberry bogs

Authors: RODRIGUEZ-SAONA, CESAR - Rutgers University; Byers, John; SCHIFFHAUER, DANIEL - Ocean Spray Cranberry

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/7/2012
Publication Date: 10/1/2012
Citation: hRodriguez-Saona, C.R., Byers, J.A., Schiffhauer, D. 2012. Effect of trap color and height on captures of blunt-nosed and sharp-nosed leafhoppers (Hemiptera: cicadellidae) and non-target arthropods in cranberry bogs. Crop Protection 40:132-144.

Interpretive Summary: Experiments in the field were conducted in cranberry bogs in 2006-2010 to determine adult attraction of the two most economically important leafhopper pests of cultivated cranberries, Vaccinium spp., in the northeast USA, the blunt-nosed leafhopper, Limotettix vaccinii, and sharp-nosed leafhopper, Scaphytopius magdalensis, to colored (yellow, green, red, blue, and white) sticky traps. We also determined the effects of trap height on insect captures, evaluated trap color characteristics (i.e., reflectance spectra and red, green, and blue –RGB – values) for maximizing leafhopper capture while minimizing beneficial arthropod capture, and correlated within season adult leafhopper captures from traps with nymphal captures from sweep nets. Leafhopper species exhibited preferences to particular colors differing in intensities along a spectrum of wavelengths and RGB values: blunt-nosed leafhoppers were attracted to green more than red which was more attractive than yellow, while sharp-nosed leafhoppers were attracted most to yellow followed by red and green equally. Attraction of leafhoppers to blue and white was similar to clear traps. Most insect predators (e.g. lady beetles, hoverflies, and minute pirate bugs), parasitic wasps, and honey bees also exhibited preferences to particular trap color characteristics, whereas green lacewings and spiders did not. An effective attraction radius was calculated for each colored trap and species. Additionally, we measured mean ± SD (standard deviation) of flight heights of several species and showed that more leafhoppers and hoverflies were captured on red and yellow traps placed 0.1 m above the cranberry surface canopy; while captures of lady beetles were highest on traps placed 0.5 m above the canopy. Numbers of adult leafhoppers on traps were largely not related with numbers of nymphs in sweep net samples, except for blunt-nosed leafhoppers captured on red traps which were positively correlated with sweep net counts. We discuss the potential of using colored sticky traps to monitor leafhopper populations so that beneficial insects are not as much affected in cranberries.

Technical Abstract: A series of field experiments were conducted in cranberry bogs in 2006-2010 to determine adult attraction of the two most economically important leafhopper pests of cultivated Vaccinium spp. in the northeast USA, the blunt-nosed leafhopper, Limotettix vaccinii, and sharp-nosed leafhopper, Scaphytopius magdalensis, to colored (yellow, green, red, blue, and white) sticky traps. We also determined the effects of trap height on insect captures, evaluated trap color characteristics (i.e., reflectance spectra and red, green, and blue –RGB – values) for maximizing leafhopper capture while minimizing beneficial arthropod capture, and correlated within season adult leafhopper captures from traps with nymphal captures from sweep nets. Leafhopper species exhibited distinct preferences to particular colors differing in intensities along a spectrum of wavelengths and RGB values: blunt-nosed leafhoppers were attracted to green = red = yellow, while sharp-nosed leafhoppers were attracted to yellow > red = green. Attraction of leafhoppers to blue and white was similar to clear. Most insect predators (e.g. lady beetles, hoverflies, and minute pirate bugs), parasitic wasps, and honey bees also exhibited preferences to particular trap color characteristics, whereas green lacewings and spiders did not. An effective attraction radius was calculated for each colored trap and species. Additionally, we measured mean ± SD of flight heights of several species and showed that more leafhoppers and hoverflies were captured on red and yellow traps placed 0.1 m above the canopy; while captures of lady beetles were highest on traps placed 0.5 m above the canopy. Numbers of adult leafhoppers on traps were largely uncorrelated with numbers of nymphs in sweep net samples, except for blunt-nosed leafhoppers captured on red traps which were positively correlated with sweep net counts. We discuss the potential of using colored sticky traps to monitor leafhopper populations in the context of their non-target effects in cranberries.