FLIGHT OF THE EUROPEAN CORN BORER (OSTRINIA NUBILALIS HBN.) AS FOLLOWED BY LIGHT- AND PHEROMONE TRAPS IN VÁRDA AND BALATONMAGYARÓD 2002

Abstract

The investigations were made in 2002 in the outskirts of two settlements: Balatonmagyaród (Zala county) and Várda (Somogy county). In the corn fields Jermy’s light- and Arco-Pheron MZ pheromone traps were placed in order to follow up the course of flight. From the material collected the corn borer specimens were isolated, then separated by sex. The generation number of the populations appearing on the respective areas, and the characteristics of the flight were determined. The meteorological data of the areas obtained from Keszthely and Kaposvár for the period concerned were compared woth the data of flight. In that way the effect of the different meteorological elements on the flight and on the trend of the female ratio could be established. The results showed the presence of two-generation corn borer populations in both places. In Balatonmagyaród the first- while in Várda the second generation proved larger. The meteorological elements significally influenced the possibility of trapping in the case of both sexes. As for the female sex ratio close correlations were found with the minimum (P=100%; r=0.297)-, maximum (P=99.9%; r=0.267)-, average (P=100%; r=0.308) temperature and precipitation (P=98.2%; r=0.187) data. Considerable asynchrony was observed between the data obtained with the two prognostic means that we ascribed to the unreliability of the pheromone trap.