ECONEX EUZOPHERA PINGUIS 2 MG 40 DAYS 1 UNIT

Sexual pheromone diffuser of the species Euzophera pinguis to attract males, with a duration of 40 days in normal field conditions.

Diffuser of natural rubber in capsule-shape. It is packaged individually in an aluminium sachet with labelled instructions. Once taken out of the sachet, the diffuser does not need any activation operation. Simply place it directly in the trap

The Euzophera pinguis is a lepidopteran that causes the death of young olive trees and decreases production in mature plantations. It is considered the third most serious pest in Spanish olive groves.

MORPHOLOGY AND BIOLOGY

In its larval stage it is found inside the trunk of the olive tree at a depth of 4-5 mm., making it almost impossible to reach with chemical treatments.

It is vulnerable only once its life cycle is known and the time of egg laying is determined. The eggs are laid on the outside of the gallery.

The eggs are oval, flat and gridded. Initially white in colour, they turn pink and eventually darken as incubation progresses. The female lays eggs in isolation or in small groups of 4-5 eggs in the groves and cracks of the branches.

The larva grows to 25 mm in length and is pale green. Its head and chest plate are black. The brown pupa develops inside a small, dense, silk structure of about 10-15 mm in length.

The adult moth is cream-coloured with a wing span of 20 to 25 mm. The front wings have two pale zigzag bands. The rear wings are practically white with a thin brown edge. 

DETECTION AND MONITORING

1 to 2 traps should be set per hectare at crop level. They should be placed on trees or on a hanger for this purpose. The traps should be set in the spring.

MASS TRAPPING

Mostly the males of this species are captured in order to reduce mating so that females that have not copulated will have non-viable eggs. This reduces the pest population.

The number of traps per surface area should be increased for mass trappings, depending on the location and homogeneity of the crops. One trap can control an area of 1,000 m². This entails a trap density of 10 traps per hectare.

NECESSARY MATERIAL

An ECONEX POLILLERO or ECONEX GREEN POLILLERO trap.

A sexual pheromone diffuser ECONEX EUZOPHERA PINGUIS, which is placed in a small cage located in the center of the trap lid.

PERIOD OF USE

To achieve good control of the Euzophera pinguis, it is advisable to combine the two methods: detection and monitoring and mass trapping.

In spring you can place 1 trap per hectare to detect the pest and observe the level of their populations. Through established thresholds of tolerance in each area, the control measures are later defined, in this case mass trapping.

The threshold of tolerance for Euzophera pinguis is very low and varies according to the area. Generally it is around 3 captures per trap and per week. Moment in which we recommend to set traps all over the crop for mass trappings.

DAMAGES

• Presence of cracks and bumps on the bark, due to the galleries dug by the larva that impede the flow of sap.
• The existence of brown glomerulii linked together by silk threads. They form due to the accumulation of excrement and sawdust, extracted by the larva which builds up at the gallery entrance. This prevents both light and the natural enemies of the larvae Euzophera pinguis from entering.  If the bark is lifted up the presence of these piles of waste material can be observed
• There is a loss of colour in the leaves on branches that are attacked by the insect.  This symptom is particularly acute at the tips of the upper branches.  However, as the attack develops this loss of colour can be observed on the rest of the tree.

Strong defoliation in branches already infested which usually leads to the branch drying out.  In the case of young trees this can cause the death of the olive tree.  The mortality rate is very high in olive trees between 4 and 10 years old. 

Euzophera pinguis directs its attacks primarily on vigorous trees. The first visible signs that indicate that a tree has been attacked are not very obvious and so are not easily visible to the naked eye.

In general the only sign that a farmer may have before seeing the first dry branches, is of larvae in the grooves of the branches, uncovered during pruning or in wounds.

Save for the winter months this pest can be found at any time of year in any of its developmental stages: larvae, butterfly, eggs or adults.  This makes it very difficult to establish an action plan to counter it.

Moreover, Euzophera pinguis develops according to the environmental temperature, so that the olive-growing areas of Cordoba and Malaga (Spain) are now infested all year round with this Lepidoptera. This is due to the elimination of its natural enemies by the massive and uncontrolled use of pesticides.

RESULTS

If technicians or farmers use the traps and pheromones as described here and when the first generation of adults emerges, then the effectiveness of this control system is very good, as proved by data from many organic farms. When large crop areas are covered more than 95% of the pest is often controlled.

A factor limiting this system is when there are small farms in many places with neighbouring plots that have a high level of infestation of the pest.

Apart from some important basic rules in effectively controlling Euzophera pinguis, each farmer/technician should find his/her own system of achieving this and he/she may experiment with this system even establishing his/her own tolerance thresholds.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE NUMBER OF TRAPS REQUIRED

Pest population, adjoining crops, level of control required, etc.

An important factor is crop size. More traps are needed in small and irregular sized crops than in uniform plots with a larger surface area. Another important factor is the distance from other plots that have the same pest. In such cases plot boundaries should be consolidated, so a trap density of up to 20 traps per hectare may be needed. More traps may be needed in the case of mass trappings

STORAGE OF THE DIFFUSERS

The diffusers must be kept in their original container and in a refrigerator at 4^oC, or in the freezer at -18^oC, in which case they will remain valid for 2 and 4 years respectively.