167 



sections and allowed to respond to the sex attractant emitted by live males 

 or extracts of males in traps. A solid-wing, Stikem-coated trap and an oblique 

 funnel trap were the most effective trap designs. Male extracts captured 

 approximately one-half as many females as did males. Of 480 total females re- 

 leased, 163 were captured, an additional 77 females responded to within 45 

 inches of the traps, and 38 females responded or were captured more than once. 

 Average daily mortality for the females was determined as about 20%, with a 

 large population of spiders within the cage being considered the most impor- 

 tant factor contributing to mortality. 



321. ; Cross, W. H.; Huddleston, P. M.; and Davich, T. B. 1970. Survey 

 and control of the boll weevil in west Texas with traps baited with 

 males. J. Econ. Entomol. 63: 1044-1048. 



. Traps baited with live male Anthonomus grandis Boheraan were effective for 

 surveying populations of overwintered and migrating boll weevils, but in 

 midseason, competition from males in fruiting cotton and decreased move- 

 ment of weevils from field to field reduced the effectiveness. The larger 

 catches observed in all areas from about Aug. 20 indicated that dispersal 

 of weevils occurred at this time. Traps placed in and around a field of 

 cotton in an area heavily infested with "tJoll weevils captured > 4000 over- _ 



♦"winrered boll weevils per cotton acre but failed to reduce populations be- 

 cause the weevils in the traps could not compete with the large number of 

 native weevils in the cotton. Traps placed in and around a field of cotton 

 in an area with a small population of weevils (inside the Texas High Plains 

 reproduction-diapause control zone) captured enough overwintered boll weevils 

 to suppress the population until dispersal began. Thus, the pheromone of the 

 male boll weevil is a potential tool for future survey, control, and eradica- 

 tion programs, but the population of overwintered weevils must be reduced 



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