Attraction of Orosanga japonicus (Melichar) to light traps and sticky color cards in citrus orchard

The leafhopper, Orosanga japonicus )Melichar( upon sucking sap from the plant deposits a lot of honeydew on the leaves, attracts sooty mold, and blackens the leaves, fruits and branches. The use of monitoring and control methods is an urgent need because of lack of knowledge on the behavior of O. japonicus. Therefore, during the years 2021 and 2022, the attraction of this leafhopper was investigated to the sticky cards with various colors including white, yellow, red, blue, and green. Similarly, the light traps equipped with energy-efficient lamps of different spectrums such as UV, white, yellow, red, and green light was also considered for this investigation. The experiments were performed from the onset up to the end of this insect’s activity in citrus orchards. According to the results, O. japonicus adults were attracted and captured mostly by the UV light traps with means of 1437.3±89.7 and 299.6±18.2 in the first and second years of survey, respectively in comparison with other lamp colors used. On the other hand, the attraction of the leafhopper to the cards showed that the white and blue cards attracted more insects with means of 24.5±5.3 and 17.1±2.1 respectively in two-year of survey, compared to green, red, and yellow cards used. This preliminary information on population monitoring of this pest may pave the path for future management of O. japonicus.