Daily activity of the raspberry cane midge male (Resseliella theobaldi Barnes)based on sex pheromone trap catches

Abstract: The raspberry cane midge is one of the main pests in raspberry plantation. Withinintegrated plant protection strategies, not only the flying curve but also the daily activity of themidges is of crucial importance. In order to determine the daily activity of the midges, tests werecarried out in raspberry plantations with both a primocane (Autumn Bliss) and a two-year-oldcanes fruiting cultivars (Fertődi zamatos). Trials were done in Berkenye (Nógrád, Hungary) in2007 and 2008. The flight dynamic of the adult males was measured by hourly counts of catchesin sex pheromone traps (AgriSense Ltd.). In July 2008 we set up an automated sex pheromonetrap with a built-in meteorological meter (Madomat Ltd.). The equipment took photographs ofthe sticky sheets every hour. The corresponding number of trapped males was defined based onthe photo.We found that males were mainly active in the morning (from 8 to 12 am) and after 5 pm.The photographs taken by the automatic trap gave evidence of an increase of flight activitybetween 4 and 9 pm. Adult males did not fly into the traps either at night or on wet days.