Development of New Formulations to Monitor MPB at Low and High Densities
Can MPB baits – and protocols for their deployment – be developed and successfully used?
MPB attraction to synthetic lures shows large variations in success depending on the beetle densities. Currently, only one type of lure is used to trap MPB regardless of beetle densities, suggesting an urgent need of new formulations monitoring beetle activities at low or high beetle population levels at the edge of beetle expansion. Having effective lures can be highly useful to predict MPB populations as tree mortality is driven by the number of beetles.
The proposed project primarily focuses on the development of new formulations of lures that can be used to detect MPB at different population densities.
Key Questions
- Do MPB responses to traps baited with synthetic lures (a combination of MPB pheromones and host tree volatile chemicals) vary with beetle density?
- Do increasing release rates of pheromones increase MPB attraction to traps?
- Do increasing release rates of host volatile chemicals increase MPB attraction to traps?
- Do increasing release rates of pheromones and host tree volatile chemicals increase MPB attraction to traps?
- Can changes in release rates of lures affect attraction of MPB depending on their density?
This project builds on previous work by the Erbilgin lab.
Led by Dr. Nadir Erbilgin, work is underway.
