Short communication. Incidence of the OLIPE mass-trapping on olive non-target arthropods

Abstract

Due to the widespread of mass-trapping systems for Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae) control in organic olive cropping, an assessment of the impact on arthropods of the olive agroecosystem was undertaken for the OLIPE trap type. The sampling was carried out in "Los Pedroches" valley (Córdoba, southern Spain) in three different organic orchard sites. Six OLIPE traps baited with diammonium phosphate were collected from each site (18 in total) from July to November 2002 every 15 days on average. Additionally, in the latest sampling dates, half the traps were reinforced with pheromone to assess its impact on non-target arthropods. From an average of 43.0 catches per trap (cpt) of non-target arthropods during the whole sampling period, the highest number of captures corresponds to the Order Diptera (that represents a 68.5%), followed distantly by the family Formicidae (12.9%) and the Order Lepidoptera (10.4%). Besides the impact on ant populations, other beneficial groups were recorded such as parasitoids (other Hymenoptera: 2.6%) and predators (Araneae: 1.0%; Neuroptera s.l.: 0.4%). Concerning the temporal distribution of catches, total captures peaked on July and had a slight increase at the beginning of autumn. No significant differences were observed between traps with and without pheromone. The results evidence that a considerable amount of non-specific captures could be prevented by improving the temporal planning of the mass-trapping system.