Optimization of a monitoring system for the pine beauty moth, Panolis flammea (Denis & Schiffermüller), using sex attractants

The efficiency of traps baited with synthetic sex attractants, (Z)-9- and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetates, for Panolis flammea (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was tested with respect to trap design, capacity, height, alignment, position and dose of lure. For optimum catches, traps should not be obstructed by vegetation, and can be placed most conveniently in forest rides. The most important features of trap design were a heavy surface coating of sticky retentive material and a large catching area. The efficiency of capture decreased rapidly when 40 or more moths were present on a sticky surface of area 380 cm². Numbers of moths caught increased regularly as the dose of lure increased from 1 μg to 5 mg. Males of Orthosia gothica (L.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were frequently caught in numbers similar to those of P. flammea in the same traps during the flight period of the latter insect. Increasing the relative quantity of the minor component, (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate, reduced catches of P. flammea, but not always those of O. gothica.