S-2 black-light trap for capturing pecan Lepidoptera

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S-2 BLACK-LIGHT TRAP
FOR CAPTURING PECAN LEPIDOPTERA

ARS-S-175
February 1978

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE e U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE /

CONTENTS

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ILLUSTRATIONS

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1. TheiS=2 black-lightitrap. .aatac cnn aeseli a ee ae eee

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TABLE

Components of the S—2 black-light trap .........................

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S-2 BLACK-LIGHT TRAP
FOR CAPTURING PECAN LEPIDOPTERA

By John S. Smith, Jr.

ABSTRACT

An improved black-light insect trap for capturing pecan Lepidoptera
was developed. The trap is small, lightweight, inexpensive, and relatively
casy to build. Construction details and operation of the trap are discussed.
KEYWORDS: insect control, insect-trap design, insect traps (electric), Lepidop-
tera (control on pecan), pecan (Carya illinoensis), S—2 black-light trap.

INTRODUCTION

Black-light traps have been used for survey-
ing nocturnal insects and as a possible control
for insects (4).2 Tedders et al. (8) used black-
light traps to suppress the hickory shuckworm,
Laspeyresia caryana (Fitch), in an 8-acre pecan
orchard to a degree equal to the control ob-
tained by conventional applications of insecti-
cides. Fifteen-watt omnidirectional survey-type
black-light traps were mounted on tripods as
described by Harding et al. (3) for the first 2
years. In the third year, these traps were modi-
fied by removing the baffles. Smith et al. (6)
used 6-watt traps of the type described by Ted-
ders and Edwards (7) to reduce significantly
the pecan shuck infestation by hickory shuck-
worms. After 3 years of operating the 6-watt
traps in an 8-acre orchard, infestation of pecans
by the hickory shuckworm was reduced to an
amount considerably below the level of eco-
nomic control (5). The pecan bud moth,
Gretchena bolliana (Slingerland) ; the pecan nut
casebearer, Acrobasis nuxvorella (Neunzig);
the walnut caterpillar, Datana integerrima
(Grote and Robinson); and the fall webworm,

(Continued on page 4.)

1 Agricultural engineer, Southeastern Fruit and Tree
Nut Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Byron, Ga. 31008.

2 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in “Lit-
erature Cited” at the end of this publication.

FIGURE 1.—The S-2 black-light trap.

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creo SSRN DOA TE SAE EAE SSE NMA I SORE EIB SENATE

FUSEHOLDER

TYPICAL MOUNTING
SCREW OR BOLT.

OLA VIEW.

26 GA. SHEET METAL
LAP EDGES AND SPorT-
WELD OR SOLDER

FUNNEL LAYOUT

16 X18 MESH HARDWARE
CLOTH COVERING.

120

TYPICAL
POSITIONING TAB.

ORE ANVAEW.

AIN DRAIN DETAIL

TYPICAL LAMPHOLDER
THREE REQUIRED
EQUAL SPACED.

tay 45°
DRAIN: TUBE

18 GA. GALV SHEET METAL
DISC FOR MOUNTING COL-
LECTING CONTAINER TOP.—

SEE DETAIL.

POSITIONING TAB.
SEE DETAIL

SOLDER DRAIN TUBE _
TO FUNNEL.

Ye'D. FLAT WASHER
SOLDERED TO DRAIN
TUBE.

45° FLARE. PLACE
IN FUNNEL THROAT
AND SOLDER.

TRAE

Je" 1D. COPPER TUBING

AP y

FOLD DETA

FIGURE 2.—Plal

Vy —LAMP HOLDER - SEE DETAIL

_ SOLDER OR SPOTWELD TO
LIP AND SIDE OF FUNNEL

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MOUNTING HOLE

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BOLT OR RIVET.
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FOLD DOWN 90° = F
TWIST-LOCK’ CONNECTOR

AND SOLDER
—- COLLECTING CONTAINER

SOLDER OR SPOTWELD
TAB TO FUNNEL.

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ELECTRICAL BOX LAYOUT

TO 120 v, 60HZ AC
POWER SOURCE.

FEMALE
-MIDGET “TWiIST-LOCK* CONNECTOR

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BLACK
WHITE
SCHEMATIC WIRING DIAGRAM
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~~ METAL DISC
I TYPICAL %"D.
= HOLE FOR RIVET
OR STOVE BOLT.
FOUR REQUIRED
EQUAL SPACED.
SHAPED TO_ —SHAPED TO LAMP.
FUNNEL LIP
POMP IDE TAIE COLLECTING CONTAINER TOP

MOUNTING DISC DETAIL

SCALE: | = -—H

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LAMPHOLDER DETAIL

black-light trap.

Hyphantria cunea (Drury), were also sup-
pressed to the degree that no detectable damage
was observed.

The 6-watt trap developed by Tedders and
Edwards was modified by Smith and Edwards
by replacing the 6-watt F6T5/BL lamp with a
22-watt FC8T9/BL lamp with required acces-
sories. The modified trap, designated as “S-2,”
caught up to five times as many hickory shuck-
worms during high population levels as did the
6-watt trap (unpublished data of author, 1971).
The S—2 trap described herein has been used
successfully in an integrated pecan pest-man-
agement pilot test to control Lepidoptera
attacking pecan (1, 2).

CONSTRUCTION AND
DISCUSSION

The S—2 trap is shown in figure 1. A galva-
nized sheet-metal commercial tractor-type fuel
funnel with a 10-inch-diameter mouth and a
114-inch-diameter throat is the basic structure
of the trap. The filter screen is removed from
the funnel throat, and three sheet-metal tabs
equally spaced around the funnel mouth (figs.
1 and 2) are soldered or spot-welded to the fun-
nel to support the circline lamp. The tabs are
also needed for proper lamp starting. A 34-inch
hole is punched 134 inches below the funnel rim
for passage of the lamp socket with connecting
wiring from the ballast in the electrical box to
the lamp in the funnel. This hole is fitted with
a %g-inch-inside-diameter rubber grommet to
protect the wiring from the sharp sheet metal.
An insect-collecting container (a 72-ounce
twist-top plastic food jar) is fitted to the neck
of the funnel. A 5-inch-diameter disk of 18-gage
sheet metal with four equally spaced =-inch-
diameter holes 2 inches from the center and a
13-inch center hole is slipped on the funnel up
to the filler-neck locking device and soldered.
The jar top, with a center hole wide enough to
allow the funnel neck through, is secured to the
sheet-metal disk with rivets or small stove bolts
(fig. 2).

A drain is installed in the insect-collecting
container to prevent rain from entering. The
rain drain consists of a piece of 14-inch-inside-
diameter copper tubing 6 to 8 inches long with
one end flared and the other cut at a 45° angle,
attached to a 60° funnel with a 314-inch-
diameter mouth and a 54-inch-diameter throat.

4

The flared end of the drain tube is fitted and
soldered in the 5-inch throat. Three equally
spaced sheet-metal tabs are attached to the rim
of the funnel for proper positioning of the
drain. The mouth of the drain funnel is covered
with 16-mesh hardware cloth to prevent the
captured insects from escaping through the
tube. A flat washer with a 5@-inch hole is sol-
dered to the drain tube high enough to provide
34, to 1 inch of clearance between the bottom of
the trap funnel neck and the top of the drain
funnel when the drain is in place. The drain
tube is passed through a 5¢-inch hole drilled in
the bottom of the insect-collecting container.
The 45°-angle cut of the drain tube makes for
easy insertion into the 5-inch hole in the
insect-collecting container (fig. 2).

It is usually desirable to kill or inactivate the
insects as soon as possible after capture, espe-
cially when using the trap for survey purposes.
A 3- by 3-inch piece of Vapona insecticide strip
suspended from a wire attached to the jar top
will kill the insects within a short time. The
Vapona should be attached to a wire long
enough to allow it to extend below the mouth of
the rain drain, between the rain drain and the
side of the insect-collecting container.

The ballast and electrical components, with
the exception of the black-light lamp, are
housed in a 7- by 214- by 314-inch sheet-metal
enclosure constructed from 26-gage galvanized |
sheet metal. The enclosure is built to conform |
to the shape of the side of the tractor funnel,
with the funnel serving as the back of the en-
closure. The housing is attached to the trap |
with four sheet-metal screws or small stove
bolts. Power is supplied to the S—2 trap by at-
taching the power-supply cord to a male midget
twistlock connecter mounted on the bottom of |
the enclosure.

The power-supply cord should be of No. 18-3
SJO or SJT power cord resistant to sunlight, |
and it should be long enough to permit the trap
to be raised or lowered to the desired height
without placing tension on it. At one end the
power-supply cord has a female midget twist-
lock connecter that couples with the male con- |
necter on the S—2 trap, and at the other end it |
has a three-wire grounding, polarized connecter
(fig. 2).

The S—2 trap is held up by three pieces of
No. 3 coil chain spaced equally around the trap
rim. Two of the chains should be approximately

TABLE 1.—Components of the S—2 black-light trap

[1 of each item]

Component Description

Tractor fuel funnel ....--.------ 10-in mouth with 4-in-high side and 1%4-in neck con-
structed from sheet metal and then hot-dip galva-
nized. General Metalware stock No. T. F. 123 or equal.

IBURST coon aco puneacsnncns doene 120-V, 60-Hz rapid-start ballast for 22-W circline lamp
complete with lamp socket. Universal catalog No.
547-RS-WS or equal.

ILE‘ 00) tole obiaigidb > obo do dD OD OmcC 120-V, 60-Hz, 22-W black-light rapid-start circline fluo-
rescent lamp. Sylvania No. FC8T9/BL/RS or equal.
Fuse holder ......-...-..-----:- 15-A, 250-V panel-mounted fuse holder with screw cap

for type AGC fuses. Bussman type HLF or equal.
| INDEED. cocnesdaocoog acu snmmugadmn 1-A, 250-V fuse. Bussman type AGC or equal.
Trap power connecter ..------- 15-A, 120-V male midget twist-lock connecter. Bryant
catalog No. 7486-MB or equal.
Power-cord connecter .....----- 15-A, 120-V female midget twist-lock connecter to mate

with trap power connecter. Bryant catalog No. 7484—
NC or equal.

Power cord and cap --...---.-.- 25-ft sunlight-resistant No. 18-3 SJO or SJT with a
three-wire grounding, polarized cap suitable for con-
necting to power source. Locking type, Bryant catalog
No. 4720 or equal. Straight-blade type, Bryant catalog
No. 5266 or equal.

Collecting container .....-..--. 72-0z twist-top plastic food jar.
No. 116 or equal.

Republic Molding

18 inches long. The other, one link shorter, is
attached at the midpoint of the location for the
electrical enclosure, because the weight of the

an integrated program for pest management on
pecans. Proc. 70th Annu. Cony. Southeast.
Pecan Grow. Assoc., pp. 155-163.

5 5 (2) , Smith, J. S., Payne, J. A., Wehunt, E. J.,
ballast contributes a high percentage of the Wells, J. M., and McGlohon, N. E. 1976. The
total trap weight. The trap will not hang level if first year of an integrated program for pest
the shorter chain is not attached to the trap rim management on pecans. Proc. 69th Annu. Conv.
near the ballast. S-hooks are convenient for at- Southeast. Pecan Grow. Assoe., pp. 125-182.
Multis the chains to the tr i al ean (3) Harding, W. C., Jr., Hartsock, J. G., and Rohwer,

2 EAD AMG atsoy 10K G. F. 1966. Blacklight trap standards for gen-
connecting the loose ends to a rope used to eral insect surveys: Recommended by the Ento-
suspend the trap from the tree. mological Society of America. Bull. Entomol.

Total shuckworm captures have been greatest Soc, Am, 12: 31-82. ee
eincight of about 30 feet in mature trees with (4) Hienton, 7. E. 1974. Summary of investigauous
. j of electric insect traps. U.S. Dep. Agric. Tech.
heights of 60 feet or more (unpublished data of Bull. 1498, 136 pp.
author, 1971). Therefore, the traps should be (5) Smith, J. S., Jr., Gentry, C. R., Edwards, G. W.,
Suspended at a height of 25 to 30 feet in mature and Blythe, J. L. 1975. Use of blacklight traps
trees, and at midheight for shorter trees. A 14- to suppress Lepidopteran insects on pecans.
inch-diameter nylon rope passed over a smal] Pirans yam Sec Eric. Biot. Vee) e ee
: : (6) , Tedders, W. L., and Gentry, C. R. 1973.
pulley attached to a limb is suggested for Blacklight trapping of the hickory shuckworm
positioning the trap in the tree canopy. moth in Georgia pecan orchards. Trans. Am.
A list of the components of the S—2 trap is Soc. Agric. Eng. 16(1): 127-128.
given in table 1. (7) Tedders, W. L., Jr., and Edwards, George W.
1974. A blacklight trap for surveys of hickory
shuckworm moths. J. Ga. Entomol. Soc. 9(3)
176-181.
LITERATURE CITED (8) , Hartsock, J. G., and Osburn, Max. 1972.

(1) Gentry, C. R., Smith, J. S., Hunter, R. E., Payne,
J. A., and Wells, J. M. 1977. The second year of

Suppression of hickory shuckworm in a pecan
orchard with blacklight traps. J. Econ. Entomol.
65(1): 148-155.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
SOUTHERN REGION

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