Pyridine compounds increase thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) trap capture in an onion crop

The effect of the thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) lures ethyl isonicotinate, methyl isonicotinate, and ethyl nicotinate on numbers of thrips captured in white water traps in an onion (Allium spp.) crop, in New Zealand, was examined. Female onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman (69.0%), and Thrips obscuratus Crawford (27.8%) (males and females) were the most common species found in traps in the onion crop. Ethyl isonicotinate, methyl isonicotinate, and ethyl nicotinate caught 18, 12, and 4x more onion thrips, respectively, than controls (no-lure). In contrast, traps with ethyl isonicotinate set up in a grass field at the same time as the onion crop trial caught 84x more onion thrips than traps without this lure. For T. obscuratus, traps with ethyl isonicotinate, methyl isonicotinate, and ethyl nicotinate caught 10, 13, and 12x more thrips, respectively, than controls in the onion crop.