Evaluation of commercial pheromone lures and comparative blacklight trap catches for monitoring Z-strain European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Field experiments were conducted during 1997 to evaluate commercially available pheromone lures for Z-strain European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) at Rosemount and Le Sueur, Minnesota. Improved pheromone lures, available from Trece, Inc. and Hercon Environmental Co., were compared with a University of Minnesota pheromone lure (MN-lure) and a conventional blacklight trap. The phenology of O. nubilalis flights, based on pheromone and blacklight trap data, also was compared. Mean moth counts were similar for the Trece, Hercon, and MN-lures. Although the pheromone and blacklight traps did not differ in total male moth capture, the pheromone-baited trap resulted in a delay of 4 to 8 d in detection of estimated peak capture.