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The consumption and food transfer efficiency of two commercially used termite bait materials, southern yellow pine wood and cardboard, and one potential bait material, maize (Zea mays L.) cob, were evaluated for use against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in the laboratory. In the no-choice test, the consumption of wood and cob was similar and significantly more than cardboard. Tunneling under the food sources was similar. In the two-choice test, the consumption was cobwood, woodcardboard, cob = cardboard, and tunneling under these choices was cob = wood, wood = cardboard, cobcardboard. In the three-choice test, no significant difference was detected in consumption, but tunnels made under the cob were significantly more than wood and cardboard. Nile blue A was used to study food transfer of bait material among termite cohorts. Dyed cardboard, cob, or wood (0.1% Nile blue A) was provided to termites as food. Termites feeding on wood turned blue in significantly greater number at 6 h compared with cardboard and cob, but there was no significant difference after 12 h. Blue termites feeding on different bait materials were then collected and combined with undyed termites. When undyed (white) termites were placed with blue termites and food (wood block), termites turned blue in the same percentage regardless of original bait material fed on. However, when no food was provided (starvation group), the rate of white termites turning blue was dramatic; in dyed wood treatment, significantly more termites turned blue than that of cardboard, although neither were significantly different from cob. Our study is the first to show that, cob, an otherwise waste product of the food and biofuel industry, is as efficient as wood and cardboard as a termite bait matrix.

The efficacy of baiting as a pest control method relies on the bait appealing to the pest species. In the case of wood-eating termites, bait stations should be designed to encourage termite presence and to maximize their consumption of bait matrix in order to expedite control in minimal time. A field experiment examined the effect of bait size (one large bait or four small baits of equivalent total size, with commensurate inspection and replacement schedules), compaction (tightly rolled or loosely folded) and composition (paper only or paper plus wood) on termite presence and on untreated bait paper removal rates over four months. All three factors were significant, with bait size the most important factor, followed by compaction and then composition. The least effective baits were small, compacted (rolled) paper-only baits with monthly inspections; these had the highest abandonment rate (70%) and had the least paper removed (mean of 24 g). The most effective baits were large, folded paper-plus-wood baits with inspections at two months; these had the lowest abandonment rate (20%) and had the highest paper removal (mean of 112 g). The more than four-fold difference between these baits types demonstrates that bait efficacy can be altered considerably merely by changing bait design without adding new ingredients to the bait matrix.

An in-depth presentation of the 'tricks of the trade' which help avoid the ugly discolorations and other signs of deterioration that so often mar illustrations on paper after a few years' storage. Selection of materials, techniques of mounting and matting are discussed, as well as methods to minimize damage that has already occurred.

A comparison of the field attractiveness of five samples of American-synthesized and one sample of Japanese-synthesized (Z,E)-9,11-tetradecadien-1-01 acetate (9,11-TDDA), the sex pheromone of Spodoptera littoralis Boisd. and S. litura (F.), showed that traps baited with one of the American-produced samples and the Japanese product were equally effective in attracting and capturing S. littoralis males in cotton and alfalfa fields of Israel. Optimum captures were obtained for periods up to three months with 4800 mug of 9,11-TDDA plus 8 mg of an antioxidant; higher doses were not advantageous. Paper squares were superior to two types of rubber septa and to closed polyethylene vials as dispensers for the pheromone; the polyethylene vials were least effective. In terms of numbers of moths captured, open polyethylene vials were as effective as paper dispensers when both were baited with 9-11-TDDA plus antioxidant. Admixture of (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadien-1-o1 acetate (9,12-TDDA) with 9,11-TDDA was antagonistic at ratios of 1:20 and 1:50, but ratios from 1:500 to 1:1600 were synergistic, increasing moth catches up to 2.5-fold. Pheromone traps placed in Caesarea sand dunes located at least 3 km from the nearest host area captured larger numbers of males than traps placed in cultivated areas. It is therefore recommended that safety belts of pheromone traps, about 500 m apart, be used around cultivated areas to prevent invasion of the pest from outside and to attract males present inside such areas, thus reducing both the male population and mating through mass trapping and disruption of sex communication.