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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #321640
Title: Evaluation of light attraction for the stored-product psocid, Liposcelis bostrychophila

Author
item Diaz-Montano, John
item Campbell, James - Jim
item PHILLIPS, THOMAS - Kansas State University
item Cohnstaedt, Lee
item Throne, James

Submitted to: Journal of Pest Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2015
Publication Date: 1/1/2016
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/63265
Citation: Diaz-Montano, J., Campbell, J.F., Phillips, T.W., Cohnstaedt, L.W., Throne, J.E. 2016. Evaluation of light attraction for the stored-product psocid, Liposcelis bostrychophila. Journal of Pest Science. 89(4):923-930. doi:10.1007/s10340-015-0724-5.

Interpretive Summary: Liposcelis bostrychophila is the major stored grain psocid or booklice species worldwide causing significant economic losses by direct feeding, and product contamination and is difficult to control with insecticides. Monitoring of psocids should be a critical part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, but monitoring tools are limited. The response of L. bostrychophila to different wavelengths of lights was studied, and 351 nm UV was determined to be the most preferred light. The use of lights to attract psocids appears to be a promising tool to be incorporated in a psocid-monitoring program that will benefit pest managers in grain warehouses.

Technical Abstract: The psocid, Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae), is the most widespread psocid pest of stored-products. Because L. bostrychophila has developed resistance to several chemical insecticides it is important to investigate other integrated pest management (IPM) approaches, and a critical part of IPM programs is to have a monitoring program, Monitoring tools for psocids are limited, and few studies have been conducted on monitoring of psocids, with none on the attraction of lights for psocids. Therefore, we studied the response of L. bostrychophila adults to eight wavelengths of Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) in paired-choice pitfall test. Among the LEDs evaluated, the strongest response by L. bostrychophila adults was to 351 nm UV. When LEDs were tested against brewer’s yeast (the most preferred attractant for L. bostrychophila among more than 20 potential attractants found in previous studies), the 351 nm UV wavelength was the only light that attracted more psocids than brewer’s yeast. These results suggest that the use of LEDs might be useful in psocid-monitoring programs for L. bostrychophila and other psocid species.