Mating disruption of Ephestia cautella (Walker) in chocolate factories

Abstract: Field trials have been carried out in order to evaluate the use of the pheromone(9Z,12E)-tetradecadienyl acetate (TDA) for mating disruption (MD) of almond moth, Ephestiacautella (Walker). Tests were carried out in Italy during 2010 in two chocolate factorydepartments: one of 650m2 (A), and another one of 300m2 (B). After a period to assess mothpopulation, MD dispensers (CheckMate® SPM type) containing TDA were placed in July.Pheromone-baited traps, oil traps + pheromone, and water traps in the chocolate factorydepartment A, and pheromone-baited traps in the chocolate factory department B were used tomonitor the population of E. cautella during the entire experimental periods. In chocolate factorydepartment A the presence of MD dispensers notably reduced the number of adults found in thetraps; in chocolate factory department B, mating diruption kept the number of males inpheromone traps low but was not able to eradicate the E. cautella population. The results of thepresent work indicate that in chocolate factories the use of mating disruption is feasible againstE. cautella, and should be further evaluated as a component of an Integrated Pest Managementbasedcontrol strategy.