Laurel wilt is a vascular disease caused by Raffaelea lauricola that infects trees in the Family Lauraceae, mainly vectored by the redbay ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytinae, Xyleborus glabratus). In avocado, in the absence of the main vector, laurel wilt is vectored by multiple species of ambrosia beetles. The first experiment evaluated the effect of visual cues to trap ambrosia beetle vectors in avocado groves and redbay forest systems. Cylindrical shaped sticky traps of different colors (White, Black, Silver) baited with ethanol lures were placed in avocado groves with a history of Laurel Wilt to evaluate landing rates on both the traps and the adjacent avocado trees. Later the impact of ultra-violet (UV) light emitted from the traps would be tested by measuring ambrosia beetle behavior in response to various light regimes created by different UV manipulating materials (ultraviolet block, titanium dioxide and non-nano zinc oxide and a multiple chemicals-based, light absorbent, sunscreen SPF 50, equate). We then tested the visual traps in a push pull system in Avocado. In all three experiments silver and or UV reflective material had the highest landing rates of ambrosia beetle species. For most ambrosia beetle species captured in our study, the combination silver cover/ ethanol lures attracted the greatest number of beetles. UV manipulation indicated that ambrosia beetles are more influence by the intensity of full spectrum light emitted by the trap rather than the specific UV wavelength.
