The Rate of Catch of the Male of Spodoptera litura F. : (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) by Virgin Female Traps

Abstract

In order to examine the effectiveness of virgin female traps, marked male moths of Spodoptera litura F. were released in a field. When 4 traps baited with 1, 5, 10, and 20 virgin females respectively were operated at the same time within a square field of 100 m×100 m, the rate of catch per trap per night was not increased in parallel to the increase in the number of virgin females attached to the trap. The rate of catch in the traps baited with 20 females was not so high as compared with the traps baited with 10 females. The percentage of marked males caught by the 4 traps in the summer season was, in the average, 7.4% to the number of the males released, but that in the autumn was 30.8%. There was no relationship between the daily fluctuation in the rate of catch and weather conditions.