Sampling for the potato moth (Phthorimaea operculella) and its parasitoids

Abstract

Numbers of potato moth (Phthorimaea operculella) collected by weekly samples using3 methods (random and selected leaf samples, and pheromone traps) were compared. An efficient method of sampling for P. operculella and its hymenopterous parasitoids is described. Pheromone traps for P. operculella and selected leaf samples for the parasitoids were used. Random sampling of leaves did not always give adequate estimates of either P. operculella or parasitoids, as particular life stages were either overestimated or excluded from samples. Selected sampling to obtain hosts after larvae were exposed to parasitoids, but before adult emergence, was more effective.