Name: building double-decker traps for early detection of emerald ash borer
Uploaded: 2017-10-04T11:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Building Double-decker Traps for Early Detection of Emerald Ash Borer at JoVE.com

Several technicians and graduate students at Michigan State University have helped to develop, refine and evaluate the DD trap design over the years, including Andrea Anulewicz, Robert McDonald and Nathan Siegert. We thank James Wieferich and Jeremy Lowell (MSU) for their assistance in developing the instructions for DD installation. James Wieferich and Molly Robinett (MSU) reviewed an earlier draft of this manuscript and we appreciate their suggestions. Joseph Francese and Damon Crook (USDA APHIS) generously shared their observations on EAB response to color and host volatiles. Funding for DD trap development and evaluation was provided by grants from the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, Forest Health Protection.

1. Prepare the Green and Purple Panels
<ol>
	<li>Acquire green and purple corrugated plastic panels (120 cm &#215; 60 cm) for EAB trapping from a commercial distributor of pest management supplies. Use a box-cutter or utility knife to score two fold lines in each panel by partially cutting through the plastic along the vertical corrugations, 40 cm from the two short edges of the panel. This allows the panel to be folded into a 3-sided prism (each face will be 40 x 60 cm). Panels are usually scored by the distributor to...

Both the design and placement of DD traps exploit the attraction of adult EAB beetles to specific shades of color and to light. The green prism on the top of the PVC pipe is most attractive to male beetles, who spend their life span feeding on ash leaves, as well as mating32,36,38,39. The lower purple prism ensures traps are also attractive to female beetles32. Like male...

The emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) has killed hundreds of millions of ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees since it was first identified in 2002 in the greater Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area and in nearby Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Inadvertent spread of infested ash trees, logs and firewood, along with natural dispersal of beetles, have resulted in EAB establishment in at least 27 states, and two Canadian provinces to date1. Recent reports indicate the EAB has also invaded Moscow, Russia, where it is killing landscape ash trees2,3, generating additional concern about its potential spread into Europe. Interspecific variation in EAB host preference and resistance among North American ash species has been documented4,5,6,7,8,9, but virtually all ash species in North America are likely to be suitable hosts. Catastrophic levels of ash mortality have been recorded in areas of Michigan and Ohio10,11,12, with associated ecological and economic impacts13,14,15,16.
Effective methods to detect new EAB infestations and monitor low density populations are critical aspects of managing this invasive pest in urban, residential and forested settings. Early detection provides time to develop a strategy, secure funding and implement activities to reduce impacts of the EAB. For example, municipal officials and homeowners can begin treating valuable ash in landscapes with systemic insecticides before damage caused by increasing larval densities limits efficacy of these products17,18. Similarly, identification of a new infestation and reliable information about local EAB distribution gives foresters and property owners the opportunity to implement timber sales, species conversion or other activities to reduce economic costs or ecological effects of ash mortality.
Early detection, delimitation, and effective monitoring of low-density EAB populations, however, remain difficult. Visual surveys to identify newly infested ash trees are not reliable because ash rarely exhibit external signs or symptoms of EAB infestation until larval densities build to moderate or even high levels4,19. The most effective means of detecting very low densities of EAB involve using girdled ash detection trees19,20,21,22. Ash trees are girdled in spring or early summer by removing a band of outer bark and phloem around the circumference of the trunk, which stresses trees, increasing their attraction to adult EAB beetles. Girdled trees can be debarked in autumn or winter to identify EAB larval presence and density. Although girdled ash trees have been used operationally for EAB detection19,23,24,25, they are problematic. Debarking girdled trees can be labor intensive and locating suitable trees for girdling can be difficult, especially in urban or residential areas or when surveys must be conducted for multiple years19.
Artificial traps baited with EAB attractants eliminate many concerns associated with using girdled ash detection trees. In contrast to other important forest pests such as gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L) and some Scolytinae bark beetles that produce long distance sex or aggregation pheromones, to date, no effective long-distance pheromones have been found for EAB. A short range sex pheromone, cis-lactone, may facilitate mating26,27, but in field trials, cis-lactone lures have not consistently increased EAB attraction to artificial traps28. Adult beetles rely on volatile compounds emitted by ash leaves, bark and wood to identify their host trees29,30,31 and encounter potential mates. Several volatile compounds have been evaluated for use in lures to attract adult EABs to artificial traps27,32. Currently, traps used operationally for EAB detection surveys in the U.S. are baited with lures containing cis-3-hexenol, a common green leaf volatile produced by ash foliage30,33. In previous years, EAB traps used for U.S. surveys have also been baited with Manuka oil, which is extracted from the New Zealand tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium Forst and Forst ) or Phoebe oil, an extract of the Brazilian walnut tree (Phoebe porosa Mez.); both contain several sesquiterpenes that are also present in ash bark29. Problems with inconsistent supplies of these natural oils, however, have restricted their use.
In addition to host-produced volatiles, adult EAB beetles respond to visual stimuli, including color and light20,32,34,35. Early studies showed EAB adults, which are relatively agile fliers, were rarely captured by black funnel traps baited with various ash volatiles (DGM and TMP, unpublished data). Other trap designs, such as cross-vane traps, were evaluated but the aversion of EAB beetles to dark spaces and shadows limited the effectiveness of these traps.
Development of a three-sided prism, which can be coated with clear insect trapping glue35 to capture beetles, was a substantial improvement in trap design. Attraction of adult EABs to color has also been extensively evaluated in field trials and in laboratory studies with a retinograph34. Results show EAB beetles are consistently attracted to specific shades of green and purple32,36. Prism traps fabricated from colored corrugated plastic are now widely used in EAB survey activities in the U.S. and Canada.
Because EAB adults are strongly attracted to light, beetles are much more likely to colonize open-grown trees than shaded trees20,21. Guidelines for EAB detection surveys in the U.S. required individual prism traps to be suspended from a mid-canopy branch in an ash tree growing along a road or the edge of a wooded area37. In theory, this should ensure that at least one panel of the prism is exposed to sunlight. Operationally, however, prism traps may be partially shadowed by overhead branches or by adjacent or nearby trees. Sticky panel surfaces are frequently blown into foliage, resulting in leaves adhering to and obscuring at least a portion of one or more panels.
Double-decker (DD) traps were developed to integrate multiple visual and olfactory cues to enhance attraction of EAB beetles. Each DD trap is comprised of one green and one purple corrugated plastic prism attached to a 3 m tall schedule 40 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe (10 cm diameter), which is supported by sliding the PVC pipe over a t-post. Using both green and purple prisms is designed to attract both sexes of EAB beetles32,36,38,39. Additionally, rather than being suspended from a branch in the canopy of an ash tree, the DD traps are placed in full sun, 5-10 m away from ash trees along the edge of a wooded area or in the midst of scattered, open-grown ash trees.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Light green corrugated plastic panel: 120 cm x 60 cm</td>
			<td>Great Lakes IPM; www.greatlakesipm.com</td>
			<td>IPM-EAB GR</td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="3">All three surfaces of each prism need to be covered with clear insect trapping glue, even if the panels are pre-glued. Pre-glued panels are often not sticky enough to consistently capture or retain EAB beetles.&#160; Other clear insect trapping glue products are available but are considerably more difficult to apply.&#160;&#160;&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Light purple corrugated plastic panel: 120 cm x 60 cm</td>
			<td>Great Lakes IPM; www.greatlakesipm.com</td>
			<td>IPM-EAB&#160; LP</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Large cable tie (4): 60 cm with a 79 kg capacity</td>
			<td>Cabletiesandmore.com; http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/cableties.php</td>
			<td>CT-24-NU-100PK</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Medium cable ties (4): 20 cm with a 22.7 kg capacity</td>
			<td>Cabletiesandmore.com; http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/cableties.php</td>
			<td>CT261</td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Small cable tie: 10 cm with a 8.2 kg capacity</td>
			<td>Cabletiesandmore.com; http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/cableties.php</td>
			<td>CT204</td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>cis-3-hexanol pouch</td>
			<td>Synergy Semiochemicals; http://www.semiochemical.com/html/buprestids.html)</td>
			<td>3136</td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="4">Lures used to bait DD traps consist of pouches containing cis-3-hexenol, a non-toxic compound present in ash leaves.&#160; One pouch is attached to the lower edge of the top prism using a small cable tie.&#160; Each pouch of cis-3-hexenol has a release rate of approximately 50 mg/day. Note that cis-3-hexenol is sometimes written as Z-3-hexenol.&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Aphinity Hexenol</td>
			<td>Sylvar Technologies</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lure GLV4 emerald ash borer</td>
			<td>Chemtica, Heredia, Costa Rica</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>cis-3-hexanol pouch</td>
			<td>WestGreen Global Technologies; http://www.westgreenglobaltechnologies.com/</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clear insect trapping glue&#160;</td>
			<td>Hummert International; http://www.hummert.com/product-details/8196/pestick</td>
			<td>01-3522-1&#160;&#160;</td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Histoclear II histological clearing agent</td>
			<td>National Diagnostics; www.nationaldiagnostics.com</td>
			<td>HS-202</td>
			<td colspan="13">Histoclear II will be needed to remove the sticky insect glue from suspect beetles.&#160; Other histological clearing agents are available but may not remove the glue and some products dissolve plastic, an important consideration if plastic containers are used for soaking the beetles.&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Histoclear II histological clearing agent</td>
			<td>Great Lakes IPM; www.greatlakesipm.com</td>
			<td>10011</td>
			<td colspan="13">Histoclear II will be needed to remove the sticky insect glue from suspect beetles.&#160; Other histological clearing agents are available but may not remove the glue and some products dissolve plastic, an important consideration if plastic containers are used for soaking the beetles.&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>t-post: 1.5 m</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td></td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1">A t-post (5 feet tall) (1.5 m) is used to support the PVC pipe.&#160;&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>post pounder</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td></td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1">Use a post pounder to set t-posts into the ground. No additional support is necessary.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HDPE (high density polyethylene) PVC pipe : 3 m x 10 cm diameter</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td colspan="14" rowspan="1"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Forceps (rigid)</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td></td>
			<td colspan="13">Forceps (tweezers) will be needed to remove suspect beetles from the traps. Rigid forceps work better than flexible forceps.&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Latex gloves</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td></td>
			<td colspan="13">Latex gloves are needed for applying the insect trapping glue to the prisms and for checking the traps to collect EAB beetles.&#160;&#160;&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Baby oil or baby wipes&#160;</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td></td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1">Baby oil or baby wipes are helpful for removing the trapping glue from hands and equipment.&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Re-sealable plastic specimen bags: 5 cm x 8 cm&#160;</td>
			<td>multiple sources</td>
			<td></td>
			<td colspan="13">Small re-sealable plastic specimen bags are useful for collecting beetles from traps.&#160; Each bag should be labelled, either with pre-made, adhesive labels or with soft felt pens.&#160;&#160;&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td colspan="3">Guides to help with distinguishing EAB from beetles native to North America are available on the national EAB website at www.emeraldashborer.info. &#160;</td>
			<td colspan="13" rowspan="1"></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

building double-decker traps for early detection of emerald ash borer

Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), the most destructive forest insect to have invaded North America, has killed hundreds of millions of forest and landscape ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees. Several artificial trap designs to attract and capture EAB beetles have been developed to detect, delineate, and monitor infestations. Double-decker (DD) traps consist of two corrugated plastic prisms, one green and one purple, attached to a 3 m tall polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe supported by a t-post. The green prism at the top of the PVC pipe is baited with cis-3-hexenol, a compound produced by ash foliage. Surfaces of both prisms are coated with sticky insect glue to capture adult EAB beetles. Double-decker traps should be placed near ash trees but in open areas, exposed to sun. Double-decker trap construction and placement are presented here, along with a summary of field experiments demonstrating the efficacy of DD traps in capturing EAB beetles. In a recent study in sites with relatively low EAB densities, double-decker traps captured significantly more EAB than green or purple prism traps or green funnel traps, all of which are designed to be suspended from a branch in the canopy of ash trees. A greater percentage of double decker traps were positive, i.e., captured at least one EAB, than the prism traps or funnel traps that were hung in ash tree canopies.

In a large scale study, three artificial trap designs as well as girdled ash trees were deployed systematically, 10-20 m apart, across a newly infested 16 ha forested area with a very low density of EAB25. Artificial trap designs tested included purple prisms baited with Manuka oil and suspended &#62;3 m high from a branch in the canopy of ash trees, 3 m tall DD traps with two green panels, and DD traps with two purple panels supported by t-posts. Double-decker tra...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Building Double-decker Traps for Early Detection of Emerald Ash Borer at JoVE.com

Building Double-decker Traps for Early Detection of Emerald Ash Borer

Effective traps to attract and capture the emerald ash borer (EAB) are a key element of detecting and managing this invasive pest. Double-decker traps, placed in full sun near ash trees, incorporate visual and olfactory cues and were more likely to capture EAB than other trap designs in field trials.

Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), the most destructive forest insect to have invaded North America, has killed hundreds of millions ...

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