The use of pheromone-baited traps is the best way to monitor for insect infestations. The sex pheromone ZETA [(Z,E)-9,12-Tetradecadien-1-0l acetate] is one of the most powerful pheromones for stored-product moths. Most traps baited with the pheromone

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Improved Monitoring System for the Indian Meal
Moth Clive Henrick1) , M. A. Mullen 2), Richard
Todd3) Donna Lingren3), and Jeffery Weier4)

Introduction The use of pheromone-baited traps
is the best way to monitor for insect
infestations. The sex pheromone ZETA
(Z,E)-9,12-Tetradecadien-1-0l acetate is one of
the most powerful pheromones for stored-product
moths. Most traps baited with the pheromone are
adequate to detect the presence of the Indian
meal moth, Plodia interpunctella and other
Pyralid moths. The difficultly in locating
infestations is exacerbated by the power of the
pheromone for the Indian meal moth. The traps
are capable of drawing from long distances and
can make it difficult to pinpoint infestations.
Pinpointing infestations can reduce the need for
generalized control treatments and will result in
lower treatment costs. Several methods are
available to pinpoint local infestations. Traps
can be concentrated in the area of the suspected
infestation or statistical methods such as
spatial mapping can be used. Both methods have
merits, but can require intensive labor, require
an extended trapping period and a knowledge in
the use of statistical programs. To more
accurately locate infestations a pheromone
trapping system with a limited attractive range
that would be effective for short term monitoring
would be useful. In this study we have develop
the MicroDot a trapping system that incorporates
a short range attractant with a compact trap that
will be able to capture insects over a short
period of time Trap Development It was thought
that a small economical and easy to use trap
would be best the best design for this use. The
trap was developed from the Storgard Thinline
trap. The trapping surface is 108 cm2 (fig. 1)
and is approximately ½ the size of the Thinline
trap (150 cm2) and 1/3 of the Storgard II trap
(309 cm2 ). The trap is constructed from
paperboard and will hold two septa lures. It is
fitted with a Velcro patch for mounting on walls
or on shelving.
Potential Applications Once the presence of
Indian meal moths has been detected using
pheromone-baited traps the process of pinpointing
the location of the infestation can begin. The
MicroDot is a lure-trap combination that is
effective in locating infestations by reducing
the possibility that moths would be drawn in from
great distances. This reduced attraction distance
enables the user to use more traps in a smaller
area which will be helpful in pinpointing
infestations. Combined with trapping periods of
2- 24 hours infested product could be identified
and removed before the infestation spreads. The
data obtained will reduce the area to be
inspected or can be used to develop spatial maps.
Lure Development Mullen (unpublished data)
speculated that the current lures for the Indian
meal moth were so powerful that the use of
multiple traps in a limited area might overpower
males as they approached the trap. Recent
studies by Toews and Campbell (personal
communication) have demonstrated that males can
be confused by the lure when approaching the
trap. Using a standard lure males were found to
land in the vicinity of the trapping surface and
to walk towards the lure a process that took
about 8 seconds from landing to capture. The
males wandered around the trap until they were
captured by the sticky surface. It was
speculated that a lure loaded with a reduced
amount of pheromone would decrease the time from
landing to capture and permit a mini-trap to be
used. Several load rates were tested until one
was found that reduced the time from landing to
capture to approximately 2.5 seconds. There data
showed that this system captures about ¼ the
number of males captured in conventional traps.
In addition our studies have shown that the
MicroDot lure attracted most male Indian meal
moths over a distance of 3-4 meters from the
trap. The reduced attractive range of the lure
reduces the possibility of confusion that might
result from using conventional lures. The
combination of a reduced attractive range and
short trapping durations will help provide better
resolution for locating infestations.
1)Trece, Inc, Palo Alto, CA 2) Trece, Inc,
Statesboro, GA 3) Trece, Inc, Adair, OK 4)
Sprague Pest Solutions, Tacoma, WA.