Environmental Entomology (1997) 26, 229-233

Paul A. Weston, Robert J. Barney and Xiaosong Ge (1997)
Host-plant characteristics and environmental factors influencing flight activity of angoumois grain moth (Lepidoptera: Celechiidae) in the field
Environmental Entomology 26 (2), 229-233
Abstract: Field studies were conducted to examine the effect of time of day and several phenological characteristics of maize plants on flight activity of Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier), a common-pre- and postharvest pest of stored maize, Zea mays L., in the southeastern United States and many subtropical and temperate areas. A diurnal trapping study conducted in central Kentucky during late summer/early autumn revealed that flight activity of males is concentrated almost exclusively at dusk (between 1700 and 2200 hours), but the window of flight activity can be shifted by meteorological conditions. Pheromone traps placed in plots of maize varying with respect to planting date and hybrid and in plots of sunflower, Helianthus annuus L., revealed that mere presence of tall vegetation increases local activity of male S. cerealella, and that maize-specific characteristics, probably volatile chemicals, further localize flight activity. Implications of this knowledge of S. cerealella behavior for management of the pest are discussed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
population dynamics/ epidemiology
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Sitotroga cerealella	Maize/corn (Zea mays)	U.S.A. (NE)
	Sitotroga cerealella	Stored grain	U.S.A. (NE)