Plant Phenology-Related Shifts in Color Preferences of<i>Epicometis</i>(<i>Tropinota</i>)<i>Hirta</i>(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) Adults - Key to Effective Population Monitoring and Suppression
ABSTRACT The study was conducted to elucidate the possibility that a shift in color preferences of adults of the apple blossom beetle, Epicometis hirta, occurs sometime after the end of over-wintering and the onset blooming of Prunus spp. trees and between the termination of blooming and the death of the adults. Such information is needed to choose the best color of the traps used for the detection, monitoring and suppression of this major pest. In a randomized complete block experiment with 9 replicates at 3 different cherry orchard sites in Turkey, blocks of 11 differently colored traps each ere operated and serviced daily in cherry orchards from the end of hibernation of E. hirta the adults disappeared at the end of the season. The numbers of adult beetles captured in each of the 11 differently colored traps in each block were recorded daily. According to ANOVA and the Tukey's test (P < 0.01), significantly the largest numbers of E. hirta were sampled by floral white-colored traps in both the pre-bloom...