Efficacy of Selected Attractants for Monitoring the Populations of the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle Xyleborus Glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) and Other Bark Beetles in the Florida Panhandle: (CIACR) - Lupine Publishers

Efficacy of Selected Attractants for Monitoring the Populations of the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle Xyleborus Glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) and Other Bark Beetles in the Florida Panhandle by Lambert HB Kanga* in Current Investigations in Agriculture and Current Research (CIACR) in Lupine Publishers

The redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) is a non-native insect first discovered in the United States in 2002 in Port Wentworth, Georgia. This beetle has a direct impact on the natural forest ecosystem because it vectors the fungus Raffaelea lauricola, which causes laurel wilt disease, a vascular disease of trees in the family Lauraceae, such as redbay, sassafras, camphor, silkbay, pondspice, bay laurel, the endangered pondberry and the economically important avocado. Originally from Southeast Asia the beetle has spread to coastal forests of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. This study surveyed previously un-surveyed areas of the Florida Panhandle, the Apalachicola National Forest usinga) A mixture of manuka and phoebe oil, b) Ethanol gel attractants and c) Hand sanitizer.

The redbay ambrosia beetle was not detected in the Apalachicola National Forest; however, another 2,394 specimens of beetles belonging to the tribe Xyleborini and related tribes of the Scolytinae were found. Of these, more than 90% belonged to introduced (invasive) species. Gel ethanol was significantly more attractive to ambrosia beetles than the manuka and phoebe oil mixture. When hand sanitizer was substituted as a source of ethanol, no significant differences were found between the numbers of beetles captured by the manuka and phoebe oil mixture and by hand sanitizer. Thus, hand sanitizer was as attractive as the commercial product. The presence of high numbers of invasive beetles suggests that an even larger number of fungi are being introduced and they are potential threats to the trees in the Apalachicola National Forest's ecosystems. Hand sanitizer attractant could be used as an alternative to gel ethanol as it is cost-effective, affordable, and sustainable

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