Post on 03-Oct-2020
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Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program – FDACS and USDA APHIS PPQ
Update on Florida CAPS trapping activities for Duponchelia fovealis Zeller,
September 2010 to May 2011
A. Derksen, CAPS Pest Survey Specialist, FDACS-DPI-CAPS and
L. Whilby, CAPS State Survey Coordinator
Introduction
Duponchelia fovealis (European pepper moth) is a stem and root-boring Lepidopteran pest of
ornamental and vegetable crops (Figure 4). The larvae prefer humid environments obscured by
leaf litter and soil cover. The larvae (Figure 5) frequently leave silken tunnels in topsoil,
between pots, or web leaves together. They tend to bore into the stem and root tissue in the top
two centimeters of soil, resulting in vascular wilt to the host plant. They may also range into
middle stems, lower leaves, or burrow into fruit. With high density infestations or densely
planted hosts, larvae may be found on leaves in the upper canopy.
The adult is mottled grey with a wingspan of one to two centimeters. Adults are strong fliers
with a high dispersal capability, having been trapped more than sixty miles from source
populations in the Netherlands. The adult lifespan ranges from one to two weeks, and females
may lay as many as two hundred eggs during this period.
They are broadly polyphagous, feeding on hosts in thirty-eight separate families. Known hosts
include a number of vegetable and ornamental commodities including azalea, blackberry, corn,
cucumber, elm, fig, geranium, hygrophila, kalanchoe, lettuce, mint, pepper, poinsettia,
pomegranate, rose, strawberry and tomato. The larval period may last from four to six weeks.
D. fovealis pupates in the topsoil or leaf litter in a cocoon constructed of silk and soil particles.
This stage may last from one to two weeks.
Interception History
Duponchelia fovealis’ biogeographic origins are believed to lie in the moist coastal areas of the
Mediterranean region, where the insect had been described as an occasional pest of vegetables.
The moth’s range has recently expanded throughout the rest of Europe, following poor
phytosanitary procedure for cut flowers and rooted transplants, to become a significant
greenhouse pest for the floral industry and hydroponic vegetables. It is believed to have
expanded into Canada on potted plants, and was confirmed at three greenhouses in 2005. Most
interceptions of this pest at United States ports have occurred when larvae were detected within
pepper fruit or on cut flowers.
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On 18 May 2010, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) informed APHIS of an
interception of larvae found within materials shipped from a nursery in Vista, California. The
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) set traps baited with pheromone lure at
the nursery site, and traps recovered on 1 July 2010 were confirmed as D. fovealis by the APHIS
Systematic Entomology Laboratory (SEL) on 16 July 2010. Trace-forwards for materials
shipped from this nursery suggested trapping other counties, and the follow-up survey by CDFA
confirmed the presence of the moth in sixteen other counties in California. Trace-forwards on
nursery materials out of the state were shared by CDFA with the Federal and other State
Departments of Agriculture, who initiated their own survey programs. By early December 2010,
surveys using pheromone traps had detected D. fovealis in thirteen states, including Alabama,
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Carolina, Texas and Washington.
Survey Methods
Survey sites in Florida were determined based on an assessment of risk factors. These factors
included the availability of known host material at a site, the origin of commodities, and the
quantity and frequency at which host material was shipped to that site. Special emphasis was
placed on sites that had received host shipments from infested counties or their neighboring
counties in California. Local producers of host commodities were also examined. At each site,
delta-wing type traps were baited with one rubber septa containing a pheromone lure specific to
D. fovealis, and suspended within the perimeter of high-risk locations. Traps were placed in
open areas with good air-flow at approximately two meters in height. GPS coordinates were
recorded for all traps, and a unique code identifying the trap was assigned. Traps were checked
on two-week intervals for the presence of the moth, and lures were replaced once every two
months. If suspicious specimens were observed in the body of the trap, the trap was collected
and submitted to identifiers at FDACS-DPI in Gainesville, Florida for identification.
Florida Results
Florida’s survey program began in mid-September 2010, shortly after receiving CDFA’s
notification and acquiring the appropriate pheromone lure and traps. These pheromone-baited traps
were initially placed within the receiving area and around the borders of nurseries that had received
plant materials from the California nursery responsible for the initial detection after July 2010.
By December 2010, sixty-eight traps had been placed in twenty-three counties. Of the traps
placed, fifteen traps had caught moths in nine separate counties within the first two-week
sampling period after placement. The highest density captures were observed outside a nursery
in Central Florida. Traps were maintained at several different positive locations in order to
observe the growth or decline in local populations over time, and to compare this to ambient
environmental conditions. Over time, these traps collected a variable number of moths, with no
strong pattern within a region or between regions (Figure 1). Raw capture data for all traps is
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provided in Tables 1A – D. Table 2 provides a regional and state summary for all captures
throughout the program.
The trapping program expanded to include more counties, and traps were placed in locations near
pepper growers’ fields in addition to nursery sites. By May 2011, eighty-eight traps had been
placed in twenty-six counties, but only forty of these traps were still active in the field at that time.
Of the twenty-six counties surveyed, twenty had detected the moth at some location within the
county (Figure 2). Over the eight months that this survey has been active, this averages to an
increase of approximately two and a half counties per month of the program (Figure 3).
Acknowledgements
The Florida CAPS program would like to acknowledge the contributions of several organizations
and individuals for their assistance during survey and trapping programs, without whom this
project would have required additional time and travel resources. These include Dr. Lance
Osborne (MREC-IFAS), Dr. Charles Mellinger of Glades Crop Care, Alfredo Bergolla with Costa
Nurseries Inc., Altman’s Nursery, and Roger Hammer with Miami-Dade County Parks and
Recreation. We would also extend our thanks to FDACS-DPI personnel: Plant Inspectors Ray
Buchholz, Joaothomaz Da Fonseca and Leslie Wilber, Teresa Estok, Lisa Hassell, Sol Looker,
Mikaela Anderson, Theresa Estok, Jason Spiller, Maria Apgar, Glenn Hart, Linda Combs, Richard
Blaney, Edward Ziegler, Mark Terrell, Scott Krueger, Eddie Anderson; also Dr. David Schuster,
Aaron Schelf and Dr. Hugh Smith of UF-IFAS; and Phil Stansley and Barry Kostyk of UF-
SWFREC; also Thomas Nelson of USDA-FFD-Palmetto; and entomologists Julieta Brambila of
USDA-APHIS-PPQ and Dr. James Hayden of FDACS-DPI.
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Table 1A. Duponchelia fovealis – trap captures in North Florida (4 counties) during
October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
Date Collected yyyymmdd County Trap # # moths Site Type
20101104 Alachua DF-A-0001-b 1 Research center
20110511 Bradford DF-A-0003-a 7 Garden center
20110520 Nassau DF-A-0007 1 Garden center
20110519 Duval DF-A-0010 2 Garden center
Total = 11
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Table 1B. Duponchelia fovealis – trap captures in Central Florida (5 counties) during
October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
Date Collected yyyymmdd County Trap # # moths Site Type
20101013 Orange DF-B-0001
1 Commercial
20101014 Orange DF-B-0004
53 Nursery
20101020 Orange DF-B-0004
31 Nursery
20101027 Orange DF-B-0004
33 Nursery
20101103 Orange DF-B-0004
22 Nursery
20101108 Orange DF-B-0004
14 Nursery
20101116 Orange DF-B-0004
24 Nursery
20101123 Orange DF-B-0004
26 Nursery
20101206 Orange DF-B-0004
21 Nursery
20101221 Orange DF-B-0004
1 Nursery
20110104 Orange DF-B-0004
3 Nursery
20110120 Orange DF-B-0004
4 Nursery
20110215 Orange DF-B-0004
5 Nursery
20110223 Orange DF-B-0004
12 Nursery
20110301 Orange DF-B-0004
10 Nursery
20110309 Orange DF-B-0004
16 Nursery
20110314 Orange DF-B-0004
22 Nursery
20110324 Orange DF-B-0004
42 Nursery
20110411 Orange DF-B-0004
33 Nursery
20110425 Orange DF-B-0004
9 Nursery
20110504 Orange DF-B-0004
19 Nursery
20110509 Orange DF-B-0004
17 Nursery
20110517 Orange DF-B-0004
12 Nursery
20110524 Orange DF-B-0004
20 Nursery
20110601 Orange DF-B-0004
7 Nursery
20101025 Orange n/a - hand catch 3 Nursery
20101108 Orange DF-B-0005
1 Nursery
20110509 Orange DF-B-0005
1 Nursery
20101029 Orange DF-B-0007
2 Garden center
20101102 Polk DF-B-0014
1 Garden center
20110511 Volusia DF-B-0022
1 Commercial
20110302 Hernando DF-B-0028
5 Garden center
20110317 Hernando DF-B-0028
2 Garden center
20110330 Hernando DF-B-0028
1 Garden center
20110412 Hernando DF-B-0028
1 Garden center
20110429 Hernando DF-B-0028
1 Garden center
20110512 Hernando DF-B-0028
1 Garden center
20110309 Seminole DF-B-0029
1 Nursery
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Table 1B (continued). Duponchelia fovealis – trap captures in Central Florida (5 counties) during
October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
Date Collected yyyymmdd County Trap #
# moths Site Type
20110324 Seminole DF-B-0029 3 Nursery
20110401 Seminole DF-B-0029 1 Nursery
20110415 Seminole DF-B-0029 1 Nursery
20110428 Seminole DF-B-0029 3 Nursery
20110513 Seminole DF-B-0029 4 Nursery
20110527 Seminole DF-B-0029 3 Nursery
20110425 Orange dfb-0004-exp 58 Nursery
20110504 Orange dfb-0004-exp 97 Nursery
20110509 Orange dfb-0004-exp 88 Nursery
20110517 Orange dfb-0004-exp 62 Nursery
Total = 798
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Table 1C. Duponchelia fovealis – trap captures in South Florida (2 counties) during
October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
Date Collected yyyymmdd County Trap #
# moths Site Type
20101108 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
8 Nursery
20101124 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
10 Nursery
20101208 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
6 Nursery
20101227 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
7 Nursery
20110302 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
38 Nursery
20110317 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
43 Nursery
20110401 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
6 Nursery
20110422 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
28 Nursery
20110520 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-a
1 Nursery
20101025 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-b
3 Nursery
20101108 Palm Beach DF-C-0006-b
3 Nursery
20110302 Palm Beach DF-C-0012
5 Farm - pepper
20110315 Palm Beach DF-C-0012
1 Farm - pepper
20110329 Palm Beach DF-C-0012
5 Farm - pepper
20110415 Palm Beach DF-C-0012
9 Farm - pepper
20110428 Palm Beach DF-C-0012
42 Farm - pepper
20110415 Miami-Dade DF-C-0018
1 Farm - mixed crops
20110415 Miami-Dade DF-C-0019
4 Nursery
20110425 Miami-Dade DF-C-0019
7 Nursery
Total = 227
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Table 1D. Duponchelia fovealis – trap captures in Southwest Florida (20 counties) during
October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
Date Collected yyyymmdd County Trap #
# moths Site Type
20101123 Charlotte DF-D-0003-a 1
Garden center
20101208 Charlotte DF-D-0003-a 1
Garden center
20110309 Charlotte DF-D-0003-a 5
Garden center
20110331 Charlotte DF-D-0003-a 3
Garden center
20110228 Pinellas DF-D-0005-a 2
Garden center
20110314 Pinellas DF-D-0005-a 1
Garden center
20110411 Pinellas DF-D-0005-a 1
Garden center
20110425 Pinellas DF-D-0005-a 2
Garden center
20101112 Hillsborough DF-D-0007-a 1
Research station
20101122 Hillsborough DF-D-0009-a 2
Garden center
20110228 Hillsborough DF-D-0009-a 1
Garden center
20110315 Hillsborough DF-D-0009-a 1
Garden center
20110411 Hillsborough DF-D-0009-a 2
Garden center
20110425 Hillsborough DF-D-0009-a 3
Garden center
20101021 Highlands DF-D-0015-a 7
Garden center
20101112 Highlands DF-D-0015-a 1
Garden center
20101130 Highlands DF-D-0015-a 3
Garden center
20110225 Highlands DF-D-0015-a 4
Garden center
20110316 Highlands DF-D-0015-a 5
Garden center
20110322 Sarasota DF-D-0024-a 1
Garden center
20110503 Sarasota DF-D-0024-a 1
Garden center
20110503 Desoto DF-D-0025-a 9
Garden center
20110524 Desoto DF-D-0025-a 1
Garden center
20101208 Hardee DF-D-0026-a 1
Garden center
20110322 Hardee DF-D-0026-a 2
Garden center
20110411 Hardee DF-D-0026-a 1
Garden center
20110502 Hardee DF-D-0026-a 4
Garden center
20110504 Hardee DF-D-0026-a 8
Garden center
20101129 Manatee DF-D-0027-a 1
Garden center
20110314 Manatee DF-D-0027-a 1
Garden center
20110328 Manatee DF-D-0027-a 1
Garden center
20110411 Manatee DF-D-0027-a 1
Garden center
20110321 Collier DF-D-0031-a 2
Farm - pepper
Total = 80
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Table 2. Regional and state totals for trap captures of Duponchelia fovealis during
October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
Region Counties Sites
Moths
Collected
North 4 4 11
Central 5 8 798
South 2 4 227
Southwest 9 10 80
TOTALS 20 26 1116
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Figure 1. Trap catches of Duponchelia fovealis for all traps maintained for more than one sampling period during October 2010 - June 1, 2011.
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Figure 2. Map of positive counties for Duponchelia fovealis as of July 13, 2011.
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Figure 3. The cumulative number of Florida counties positive for the detection of Duponchelia fovealis
after the survey program using trap and lure was initiated.
0
5
10
15
20
25
9/29/2010 11/18/2010 1/7/2011 2/26/2011 4/17/2011 6/6/2011
Cu
mu
lati
ve n
um
be
r o
f Fl
ori
da
Co
un
tie
s
Date
1 Orange 10/13/2010
2 Highlands 10/21/2010
3 Palm Beach 10/25/2010
4 Polk 11/2/2010
5 Alachua 11/4/2010
6 Hillsborough 11/12/2010
7 Charlotte 11/23/2010
8 Manatee 11/29/2010
9 Hardee 12/8/2010
10 Pinellas 2/28/2011
11 Hernando 3/2/2011
12 Seminole 3/11/2011
13 Collier 3/21/2011
14 Sarasota 3/22/2011
15 Miami-Dade 4/15/2011
16 DeSoto 5/03/2011
17 Bradford 5/10/2011
18 Volusia 5/11/2011
19 Duval 5/19/2011
20 Nassau 5/20/2011
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Figure 4. Duponchelia fovealis Zeller, adult. (Photography credit:
Robin Barfoot, United Kingdom, http://ukmoths.org.uk image#1403a).
Figure 5. Duponchelia fovealis Zeller, larva. (Photography credit:
Dr. Marja van der Straten, National Reference Laboratory,
Plant Protection Service, the Netherlands)