Suitability of commercially available insect traps and pheromones for monitoring dusky sap beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) and related insects in Bt sweet corn

Two trap types and pheromone sources for the dusky sap beetle, Carpophilus lugubris Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), were compared in Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and non-Bt sweet corn fields over a 3-yr period. Overall, commercial traps and pheromones were equally effective as experimental traps and pheromones used previously for capturing C. lugubris and other sap beetle species. The commercial trap often caught significantly more Glischrochilus quadrisignatus Say than the experimental trap that had been used in previous studies. Bt corn significantly reduced caterpillar damage to ears compared with the non-Bt isoline and did not adversely affect levels of Orius sp., the most common insect predator. Sap beetle damage was the most common insect damage to Bt sweet corn ears. Sap beetles were detected by traps at population levels below that which are likely to cause economic concern, indicating commercially available traps and pheromone lures for monitoring sap beetles should be suitable for detecting them under commercial growing conditions.