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. 2024 Mar 22;15(4):218.
doi: 10.3390/insects15040218.

Assessment of Attractant Combinations for the Management of Red Palm Weevils (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) in the United Arab Emirates

Su-Mi Na  1 , Gue-Il Im  2 , Woon-Seok Lee  2 , Dong-Gun Kim  1   3
Affiliations

Assessment of Attractant Combinations for the Management of Red Palm Weevils (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) in the United Arab Emirates

Su-Mi Na et al. Insects. .

Abstract

This study examined red palm weevil ecology in the United Arab Emirates to develop effective food baits, pheromone, and eco-friendly trapping methods. Three phases of investigation were conducted (from June to December 2023) on date palm farms in Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi. The first two phases, each 15 days long, were conducted in Ras Al Khaimah, whereas the third phase, 18 days long, was conducted in Abu Dhabi. Chemical attractants, such as existing pheromones and ethyl acetate, a newly synthesized ferruginol pheromone, and food baits, such as original dates, date paste, coconut water, and date palm syrup, were used to attract the weevils. Multi-funnel traps containing various attractant mixes were tested. The main activity of the red palm weevils was observed from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m., with 85.72 ± 3.39% being captured during this period, coinciding with cooler temperatures. When pheromones were added to the food bait, the capture rate increased by 6.95 ± 1.81 times. Combining food bait, ethyl acetate, and pheromones improved the capture rates by 3.14 ± 0.69 times compared to pheromones alone. The newly synthesized pheromone achieved capture rates 2.69 ± 0.07 times higher than those of the commercially available pheromone, confirming its suitability as a red palm weevil attractant.

Keywords: attractant; ferruginol; food bait; integrated pest management; pheromone; red palm weevil.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author G.I.I., W.S.L. was employed by the company IMPROCK. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Locations of red palm weevil attractant preference experiment: (a,b) locations where the experiments were conducted and (c) the traps used in the experiments.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean capture rates of male and female red palm weevils according to collection times. These are the results of the first and second experiments conducted in Ras Al Khaimah from 15 June to 15 July 2023. The error bars represent the standard error. The letters above the standard error indicate statistical significance, indicating differences in statistical tests such as Tukey’s test, p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Daily mean capture rates of red palm weevils by attractant type across the experimental sessions: results of the (a) first, (b) second, and (c) third experiments. EP stands for existing pheromone, NP stands for new pheromone, M stands for MEG, L stands for liquid, and J stands for jelly. The error bars represent the standard error. The letters above the standard error indicate statistical significance, indicating differences in statistical tests such as Tukey’s test, p < 0.001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Daily mean red palm weevil capture rates by attractant type: results of the (a) first, (b) second, and (c) third experiments. The error bars represent the standard error. The letters above the standard error indicate statistical significance, indicating differences in statistical tests such as Tukey’s test, p < 0.001.
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