Pollen contamination of boll weevil traps

Abstract

The boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, has been the most devastating insect pest of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the southern United States of America (USA). Although thought to feed only on cotton, the list of non-cotton alternative food sources increases yearly. Many of these taxa are thought to be contaminates and not food sources. The purpose of this research was to examine the possibility that weevils become contaminated with pollen while sitting in the trap. Between January and April, boll weevil traps were placed near Brownsville and Weslaco (a substitute location) and in Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Pollen was removed from the trap's pole, skirt, mesh cone, and lid by wiping them with an individual, sterile, 100% cellulose acetate filter. The original trap was replaced with a replacement trap that was left for three days, then wiped for pollen. Little pollen was found on the trap parts regardless of the month or the site. The mesh cone was the least contaminated. From these data, it is doubtful that weevils become contaminated with pollen while sitting in the trap. Additional research is needed to examine if pollen is transferred among trapped weevils.

Keywords:

• Boll weevil
• trap
• pollen contamination

Acknowledgements

We appreciate Ester F. Wilson (USDA-ARS, APMRU) for her untiring assistance in this research and the photograph of the boll weevil trap. We also are indebted to Drs. Vaughn M. Bryant, Jr., (Texas A & M University) and Cynthia Sheffield (United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Food and Feed Safety Research Unit) for their editorial comments. A special thanks goes to Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge and the US Department of Interior for allowing us to do this research in the refuge, permit number 21551-102805-BKM, Station No. 21551. We appreciate the work of the reviewers selected by Grana that helped improve this manuscript. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture.

Notes

This work was authored as part of the Contributor's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under US Law.