Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada

Red clover casebearer (Coleophora deauratella) monitoring in the Peace River Region Otani, J.1, Jorgensen, A.1

1 Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Beaverlodge, AB

The red clover casebearer moth (RCCB), Coleophora deauratella Lieneg & Zeller (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae), is an invasive pest first found in the Peace River region in 20051. RCCB can cause seed yield losses of ≥80% in 2nd-year seed stands of red clover2. RCCB also utilizes Alsike clover2. RCCB is univoltine with moths commencing flight in mid-June in the Peace River region. Eggs are laid on the calyx of florets2,3. The larvae feed within then amongst the florets from June to late August then overwinter in field trash2,3.

Background

a

Acknowledgements Technical support was provided by Kayleigh Loberg, Shelby Dufton, Holly Spence, Sara Stagg, Kaitlin Freeman, Jadin Chahade and Graham Fonseca. Producer Cooperators: Terry Chaibos, Lucien Houle, Norman Lavadiere, Danny Limoge, Marc Rochon. References : (1) J. Otani unpublished data . (2) Ellis & Bjørnson. 1996. Proc. Ent. Soc. Ont. 127:115-124. (3). Hammer. 1937. Jou. Pla. Bre. 42 (2):333-343 (4). https://www.contech-inc.com/ (5) Photo courtesy of J-F. Landry.

Q: Does RCCB larval abundance and development differ on red

compared to alsike flower heads?

Table 1. Density of Coleophora sp. larvae in red and alsike flower heads (N=50

flowers/patch)*sampled from seed stands and adjacent volunteer clover plants

on July 23, 2014.

Monitoring Sites

Fig. 1. Sites used for pheromone and sweep-net monitoring and to determine

larval abundance. Map legend: Red=Red clover, Yellow=Alsike Clover,

Green=wheat underseeded to red clover.

In Progress

Fig. 5. Magnified views of RCCB larva including a Mature case (A), a larva within

its case (B), a larva extracted from its case (C), the dissected head capsule (D)

and the rear prolegs adapted to grip its case (E). Photos: AAFC-Jorgensen.

A B C

D

E

2 mm 1 mm 1.5 mm

a Value represents mean ± standard error of mean.

Fig. 2. Green unitrap4 in a clover field.

Photo: S. Dufton b

Site Crop Location Patch

size(m2) Number of larvae

per patch Density (Number of larvae per flower)*

Site 2014- 049 Red Field 50 40 0.8

Alsike Ditch 15 0 0

Site 2014-046 Red Field 50 5 0.1

Alsike Ditch 5 0 0

Site 2014-047 Red Ditch 10 278 5.56

Alsike Field 50 0 0

Site 2014-048 Red Field 50 15 0.3

Alsike Ditch 10 0 0

Total Red 160 338 0.8±0.14a

Alsike 80 0 0±0.00a

Methods:

Hand collected flower heads from fields and ditches near Falher, AB (N=50 buds/species/site*; Table 1). Individually monitored flowers for larval emergence (Fig. 4).

Q: What are the seasonal adult populations in clover fields?

Methods:

Pheromone traps4 (Fig. 2; N=2 per site) deployed at 6 Albertan sites (Fig. 1 & 3; N=5 sites near Falher, N=1 site near Beaverlodge). Sweep-net monitoring at 6 sites (Fig. 2; N=100 sweeps/week). Traps contents and sweeps collected weekly; identified moths to species and verified sex ratio in sweep-net samples (in progress).

Fig. 4. Red clover flowers reared individually (A) and RCCB larva

feeding within floret (B).

A B

2014-004 Mountain Trail

2014-046 Lavadiere

2014-047 Limoge

2014-048 Rochon

2014-049 Chaibos

2014-050 Houle

2014-004 Red 2nd-yr

2014-046 Red 1st-yr

2014-048 Red 1st-yr

2014-049 Red 1st-yr

2014-050 Red Underseeded

2014-047 Alsike 1st-yr

Week of Year

RC

CB

Male

s / D

ay /

Tra

p

Fig. 3. Pheromone trap catches per day per trap in 2014.

AAFC-OTANI