Pheromone-trapping of Carpophilus spp. (Coleoptera : Nitidulidae) in stonefruit orchards near Gosford, New South Wales: Fauna, seasonality and effect of insecticides

Traps baited with synthetic aggregation pheromones of Carpophilus hemipteru s (L.), Carpophilus mutilatus Erichson and Carpophilus davidsoni Dobson and fermenting bread dough were used to identify the fauna and monitor the sea sonal abundance of Carpophilus spp. in insecticide-treated peach and nectar ine orchards in the Gosford area of coastal New South Wales. In four orchar ds 67 178 beetles were trapped during 1994-1995, with C. davidsoni (82%) an d Carpophilus gaveni (Dobson) (12.2%) dominating catches. Five species (C. hemipterus, C. mutilatus, Carpophilus marginellus Motschulsky, Calpophilus humeralis (F.) and an unidentified species) each accounted for 0.2-3.2% of trapped beetles. Carpophilus davidsoni was most abundant during late Septem ber-early October but numbers declined rapidly during October, usually befo re insecticides were applied. Spring populations of Carpophilus spp. were v ery large in 1994-1995 (1843-2588 per trap per week). However, despite a pr eharvest population decline of approximately 95% and 2-11 applications of i nsecticide, 14-545 beetles per trap per week (above the arbitrary fruit dam age threshold of 10 beetles per trap per week) were recorded during the han est period and fruit damage occurred at three of the four orchards. Lower preharvest populations in 1995-1996 (< 600 per trap per week) and up to six applications of insecticide resulted in < 10 beetles per trap per week dur ing most of the harvest period and minimal or no fruit damage. The implicat ions of these results for the integrated management of Carpophilus spp. in coastal and inland areas of southeastern Australia are discussed.