EVALUATION OF THREE TRAPPING STRATEGIES FOR RED PALM WEEVIL, RHYNCHOPHORUS FERRUGINEUS (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) IN THE PHILIPPINES

A six day trial evaluating three different trapping methods for red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, was conducted in a commercial coconut plantation in the Philippines. Results clearly demonstrated that the treatment composed of freshly cut coconut palm stumps with stacks of sectioned trunks and palm hearts combined with the RPW aggregation pheromone (Ferrolure), the synergist ethyl acetate (weevil magnet), and food additives (either fermented dates of sections of palm hearts) was most effective at attracting and retaining adult RPW (n = 23 adults captured in six days). Two other treatments, bottle traps with aggregation pheromone and synergists, or freshly cut coconut palm stumps and stacks of cut palm trunks, failed to capture to adult RPW over the course of this experiment.