Page 30 - Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2010

Michaelakis

et al.

30

Development and Food, was conducted in

order to determine the presence and dis-

tribution of the pest in Greece. The present

study reports on the major findings of this

survey.

In order to determine the occurrence of

WCR, 174 pheromone traps (Csal

MTA NKI

m

N®,

KLPfero+ registered trademark of the

Plant Protection Institute, Hungarian Acade-

my of Science) were placed in most of the

maize-producing areas in Greece (total of 31

prefectures). Traps were set up into maize

fields in mid-June 2009 and were inspected

every 10 to 15 days until the end of Septem-

ber 2009. Pheromone lures were replaced

every 5 weeks. Captured beetles were iden-

tified following the EPPO diagnostic proto-

col (9). Confirmation of the original identifi-

cation was done by Dr Sharon Shute in

Natural History Museum of London, UK,

where specimens of adults have been de-

posited. Specimens of the captured WCR

adult beetles have also been deposited at

the Laboratory of Entomology of the Benaki

Phytopathological Institute and at the Labo-

ratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zool-

Figure 1.

Prefectures of Greece where surveys were conducted (gray and black color) and prefectures where the presence

of

Diabrotica virgifera virgifera

Le Conte (western corn rootworm, WCR) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was recorded (black

color).