Decoding attraction: Improving vine weevil monitoring by exploiting key sensory cues

Monitoring is an integral component of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes used to inform crop management decisions. Vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus F. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), continues to cause economically significant losses in horticultural crops due to an inability to reliably detect the presence of this species before crop damage occurs. To improve vine weevil monitoring we investigated the behavioural responses of adult vine weevils to visual (monitoring tool shade/colour, height and diameter as well as the effect of monitoring tool and plant density) and olfactory (host plant and conspecifics) cues under glasshouse conditions.

Monitoring tool shade, height and diameter all influenced monitoring tool efficacy, with individuals exhibiting a preference for black, tall and wide monitoring tools. The total number of individuals recorded in monitoring tools increased with monitoring tool density. By contrast, plant density did not influence the number of individuals recorded in monitoring tools. Yew-baited monitoring tools retained a larger number of individuals compared to unbaited ones. Similarly, more vine weevils were recorded in monitoring tools baited with yew and conspecifics than in unbaited monitoring tools or those baited with only yew. Baiting monitoring tools with conspecifics alone did not enhance the number of vine weevils recorded in monitoring tools.

Our study confirms that visual and olfactory cues influence vine weevil behaviour. This provides information on key factors that influence vine weevil monitoring tool efficacy and can be used to inform the development of a new monitoring tool for this pest. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.