Sustainable trap strategies for controlling the dominant waxberry pest Dicranocephalus wallichii bowringi: Evidence from three-year field trials

TL;DR

A three-year study in China found that a sugar-vinegar-wine trap effectively controls the Dicranocephalus wallichii bowringi beetle, a major pest of waxberry fruit.

Contribution

A sustainable, eco-friendly trapping strategy for Dicranocephalus wallichii bowringi using a sugar-vinegar-wine bait was developed and validated over three years.

Findings

Dicranocephalus wallichii bowringi was identified as the dominant pest during waxberry harvest in Jiangsu.

A sugar–vinegar–wine trap significantly reduced beetle populations over three consecutive years.

Peak beetle populations coincided with waxberry fruit ripening.

Abstract

Waxberry, a highly valued specialty fruit in China, is frequently threatened by various pests. Among these, certain beetle species, particularly Dicranocephalus wallichii bowringi, have emerged as major pests during the fruit harvest season in Jiangsu, China. However, the field occurrence patterns of these beetles remain poorly understood, hindering effective management. Here, we conducted a three-year field study to monitor the population dynamics of beetles in open waxberry orchards and to develop sustainable pest management strategies. Of the three common beetle species identified, D. wallichii bowringi was the dominant pest, with peak populations coinciding with fruit ripening. A green trapping device baited with a sugar–vinegar–wine aqueous solution effectively attracted adult D. wallichii bowringi. Implementation of this strategy over three consecutive years resulted in marked reductions in D. wallichii bowringi populations. These findings offer an eco-friendly and effective trapping strategy for managing this key waxberry pest.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44297-026-00069-4.

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