Evaluating a vibrational trap for the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys

Multimodal sensory stimuli may increase the efficacy of traps, improving the sensitivity of monitoring tools and reducing levels of spillover injury on nearby crops. Vibrational signals have been proposed as a means of attracting hemipteran pests in field settings due to their relevance to the reproductive behavior of insects in this order. The female-produced courtship song of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is paired with lures containing a synthetic form of the male-produced aggregation pheromone in a novel, multimodal trap design. We tested whether the combination of vibrational and chemical signals increased the proportion of marked insects that were recaptured in semi-field cage experiments, compared to captures in traps that were baited with only vibrations or only pheromone lures. To determine whether the novel design outperforms current monitoring tools, we deployed multimodal traps and standard pyramid traps at two hazelnut orchards in the Willamette Valley. Trap counts and rates of hemipteran feeding damage on nuts sampled adjacent to traps of each type were compared. Our findings suggest that the addition of vibrational stimuli to traps increases rates of adult captures but does not affect the level of spillover injury observed in the vicinity of the trap.