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Combination of UV and green light synergistically enhances the attractiveness of light to green stink bugs Nezara spp

LED traps

We used a commercially available portable light trap (Eco-chu trap, Konan Shisetsu Kanri, Okinawa, Japan) to modify the light source. A prototype trap equipped with 12 UV-LED bulbs was developed to catch the green chafer Anomala albopilosa (Hope)35, but it was not sufficiently attractive to stink bugs. Light sources with different numbers of LEDs, from 12 to 84, were used. Either or both bullet-type UV-LED bulbs (NS395L-ERLO; 395 nm, 20 mA, Nitride Semiconductors, Tokushima, Japan) and green LED bulbs (NEPG510S; 525 nm, 20 mA, Nichia, Tokushima, Japan) were used. LEDs were arranged vertically on a stainless-steel cylinder (4.8 cm in diameter, 20 cm in height). Light sources with 12 LEDs were arranged in six rows around the circumference. Each row was arranged as two LEDs at 7.8 cm intervals. Adjacent LEDs were arranged in a left-handed spiral (depression angle of 53°, at approximately 2.5 cm intervals). Light sources with 21 LEDs were arranged in eight rows around the circumference. Each row was arranged as two or three LEDs at 7.2 cm intervals. Adjacent LEDs were arranged in a left-handed spiral (depression angle of 63°, at approximately 2.0 cm intervals). Light sources with 42 LEDs were arranged in eight rows around the circumference. Each row was arranged as five or six LEDs at 3.6 cm intervals. Adjacent LEDs were arranged in a left-handed spiral (elevation angle 63°, at approximately 2.0 cm intervals). Light sources with 84 LEDs were arranged in eight rows around the circumference. Each row was arranged as 10 or 11 LEDs at 1.8 cm intervals. Adjacent LEDs were arranged in a left-handed spiral (elevation angle 63°, at approximately 2.0 cm interval). When both UV and green LEDs were used, both LEDs were arranged alternately in a row (Fig. 4). The cylinder with the LEDs was covered with a transparent acrylic cylinder (9.8 cm in diameter, 20 cm in height).

Figure 4

Photograph of combined UV and green LED trap used in the experiments.

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The light source was mounted on a funnel (31 cm in diameter, 24 cm in height), and the lower part of the light source was approximately 100 cm above the ground. A cylindrical chamber (23 cm in diameter, 20 cm in height) was placed under the funnel so that insects that were attracted to the light fell into the funnel and were trapped. The legs of the trap were anchored to the ground using steel stakes. A dimethyl-dichloro-vinyl-phosphate (DDVP) plate containing 10.7 g dichlorvos (Bapona, Earth Chemical, Tokyo, Japan) was placed inside the chamber to kill the insects. The lights were turned on at 18:00 and turned off at 6:00 the next day. The power for the lights was supplied by rechargeable car batteries (N-40B19R/SB; DC 12 V, 28 Ah, Panasonic, Osaka, Japan) or domestic electricity power supplies (AC100V).

Emission spectra of combined UV and green light

The spectral intensity of combined UV and green light was measured using a high-speed spectrometer (HSU-100S, Asahi Spectra, Tokyo, Japan) in a dark room. An attached sensor fiber was placed 50 cm in front of the light source. The measurement was performed five times, the light source was rotated for each measurement to minimize the angle effect, and the average was used as a representative value. The UV- and green-LED emission spectra showed single peaks at wavelengths of 400 and 526 nm, respectively (Fig. 5). Calculated light intensities of UV (350–450 nm) and green (451–600 nm) regions were 2.12 × 1017 and 2.03 × 1017 photons m−2 s−1, respectively; that is, the light intensities of UV- and green-LEDs were almost equal.

Figure 5

Emission spectra of light source with UV- and green-LEDs. The light source was composed of alternating 42 UV-LEDs and 42 green-LEDs. The intensity of light was measured using a high-speed spectrometer (HSU-100S). An attached sensor fiber was placed 50 cm in front of the light source.

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Field evaluation of attractiveness to light sources

Field experiments were conducted at three locations in Japan: Central Region Agricultural Research Center (CARC), Hokuriku Research Station (37° 07′ 00″ N, 138° 16′ 23″ E) in Niigata; Yamaguchi Prefectural Agriculture & Forestry General Technology Center (YPATC) (34° 09′ 37″ N, 131° 29′ 47″ E) in Yamaguchi; and Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural Research Center (OPARC) (26° 06′ 18″ N, 127° 40′ 53″ E) in Okinawa. The distribution of Nezara spp. varies among the regions in Japan. Only N. antennata is distributed in Niigata, and only N. viridula is distributed in Okinawa. Both N. antennata and N. viridula were found in Yamaguchi.

Experiment 1: Attractiveness of UV light at different intensities

Field experiments to evaluate the attractiveness of UV light at different intensities were conducted from August 2 to 29, 2017, around a soybean field at the CARC in Niigata and from July 12 to September 9, 2019, in grassland at the OPARC in Okinawa. Light traps with different numbers of UV-LEDs (12, 21, 42, and 84) were used as light sources. Each of the four LED traps was spaced more than 30 m apart and placed randomly around the soybean field or grassland. Due to time constraints, the numbers of N. viridula and N. antennata captured in traps were counted every 3–4 days at Niigata (total eight replicates) and every 7 days in Okinawa (total eight replicates). The traps were randomly repositioned every week to minimize the effect of trap location. The raw capture data for each trap are listed in Supplementary Table S1.

Experiment 2: Attractiveness of green light at different intensities

Field experiment to evaluate the attractiveness of green light at different intensities was conducted from July 5 to August 5, 2019, around a soybean field at the YPATC in Yamaguchi. Light traps with different numbers of green LEDs (12, 21, 42, and 84) were used as light sources. Light trap with 84 UV-LEDs was used as the positive control. Each of the five LED traps was spaced more than 30 m apart and placed randomly around the soybean field. The numbers of Nezara bugs captured in traps were counted every 3–4 days (total nine replicates). The traps were randomly repositioned every week. The raw capture data for each trap are listed in Supplementary Table S2.

Experiment 3: Attractiveness of combined-UV and green light

Field experiments to evaluate the attractiveness of combinations of UV- and green-LEDs were conducted from June 13 to September 4, 2017, in the grassland at the OPARC in Okinawa, and from July 15 to September 1, 2017, around a soybean field at the YPATC in Yamaguchi. Light traps with 84 UV-LEDs, 84 green-LEDs, and a combination of 42 UV-LEDs and 42 green-LEDs were used as light sources. Each of the three LED traps was spaced more than 30 m apart and placed randomly around the soybean field or grassland. Although insects other than Nezara bugs (mainly coleopteran species) were captured in the light traps, for soybean pests, the funnel-type light traps are intended for monitoring large coleopteran and heteropteran insects (> 1 cm). Therefore, we targeted and counted insects that meet these conditions. Statistical analysis was performed on species with a total capture number of more than 20 individuals in the three traps. The species were as follows: in addition to Nezara bugs, heteropteran bugs, Piezodorus hybneri (Gmelin), Glaucias subpunctatus (Walker), Halyomorpha halys (Stål), and Plautia stali Scott, as well as coleopteran beetles, Anomala albopilosa (Hope), A. cuprea Hope, A. rufocuprea Motschulsky, and Holotrichia parallela Motschulsky. The insects captured in traps were counted for each species every 7 days at Okinawa (total 12 replicates) and every 3–4 days at Yamaguchi (total 14 replicates). The traps were randomly repositioned every week. The raw capture data for each trap are listed in Supplementary Table S3.

Data analysis

In Experiment 1, the effect of UV light intensities for trap catches were analyzed using a nonparametric one-tailed Shirley–Williams test under an assumption that higher light intensity attracts larger amounts of insects. In Experiment 2, the effect of green light intensities for trap catches were analyzed using the Shirley–Williams test. Subsequently, the attractiveness of each green light was compared to that of UV light using Wilcoxon matched pairs signed-rank test. In Experiment 3, the effect of light sources for trap catches was analyzed using the Friedman test, followed by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Statistical analyses were performed using R version 4.2.0 (R Core Team, 2022).


Source: Ecology - nature.com

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