A novel oviposition trap for studying the egg-laying behavior of emerald ash borer

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is one of the most destructive invasive forest pests in North America, where it has killed hundreds of millions of ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees since its first detection in 2002. Native to Asia, female EAB adults lay their eggs between bark crevices or under loose bark of their host trees. Because of this cryptic egg-laying behavior, field detection of EAB eggs has been extremely difficult, resulting in knowledge gaps of EAB egg-laying behavior. In the present study, I tested the potential use of strips of burlap fabric (0.03 m × 1 m) or polypropylene curling ribbon (0.005 m × 2 m) to induce female EAB adults to lay eggs on the trunks or branches of ash covered with these materials in the field. The burlap trap tested in this study detected more than twice as many EAB eggs (4.9 ± 1.1 eggs per burlap trap) as did the polypropylene ribbon trap (1.9 ± 0.5 eggs per ribbon trap). When the surface area of each trap is standardized to one square meter, however, both burlap fabric and polypropylene ribbon traps are equally effective in inducing female EAB adults to lay eggs onto the covered surface of ash trunks or branches. Potential applications of the oviposition traps for effective detection and control of EAB and other jewel beetles are discussed.