L. FURLAN, A. Di BERNARDO
Department of Agronomy, Entomology, University of Padova
R. FERRARI, L. BORIANI
Centro Agricoltura Ambiente, Crevalcore
P. NOBILI
Divisione Biotecnologie e Agricoltura, Enea Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Roma Vincenzo Vacante, C. BONSIGNORE, G. GIGLIOLI
Department of Agrochemistry and Agrobiology, “Mediterranean” University of Reggio Calabria
M. TÓTH
Plant Protection Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Budapest

The potential suitability of sex pheromone traps for implementing IPM strategies against Agriotes populations was first suggested at XIX IWGO Conference in Portugal. Later on the efficacy of the new Agriotes sex pheromone traps in detecting different species and populations was demonstrated at XX IWGO Conference in Adana. The first practical implications of the use of the new traps in Italy are described.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
From 1999 to 2001 trials were done in six different Italian regions: Veneto, Piemonte, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Calabria, Sicilia. The areas studied have very variable climatic and agronomic conditions. Latitude ranged from 37°- 39°C of the Southern regions (Sicily and Calabria) to 45 – 46°C of the Northern regions (Veneto and Piemonte). Acid soils are present in Piemonte (North) and Southern regions while in the other ones basic soils are prevalent. All trials were done using a common protocol.  In the first 2 years YATLOR and VARb traps were used while in 2001 a trap design suitable for both flying and crawling species (YATLORfunnel) was used. Individual traps were baited with the lures for one of the following species: Agriotes lineatus, A. obscurus, A. sputator, A. sordidus, A. brevis, A.litigiosus, A.ustulatus. Larval population was estimated by using bait traps and soil sampling.

RESULTS
Detection of the key species in the different areas: as to the regions in Northern Italy data were completely in agreement with those regarding the larvae found damaging crops in Po Valley over an eighteen years study. In the Eastern part (Veneto and Friuli) only larvae of 3 species (A. ustulatus, A. sordidus, A. brevis) were found damaging the main herbaceous crops and only the pheromone traps for these 3 species captured conspicuous numbers of adults. In Emilia Romagna only adults of A. litigiosus, A. brevis and A. sordidus were captured in high numbers and only larvae of these 3 species were reported as damaging maize and other crops. In Piemonte, besides the species above mentioned, also A.lineatus larvae were found damaging maize seedlings and this was the only region where A. lineatus click beetles were captured. Also few specimens of A. obscurus were captured in the area where one larva of the species was found in a maize field damaged.
No reliable information regarding the Agriotes larvae damaging crops in central and south Italy was available so far. The pheromone traps allowed understanding that the same species present in Northern Italy are the key soil pests also in these regions with the exception of A. ustulatus. All the other species are present everywhere; A. sordidus conspicuous populations were recorded at almost all the sites studied. A. sputator and A. rufipalpis were not found in any of the areas while males of minor species were found in some traps (Agriotes acuminatus both in Northern and Southern regions).
Traps sensitivity and relationship between pheromone trap catches and wireworm population levels: the sex pheromone traps proved to be much more sensitive than the tools used to monitor larval populations; numbers of click beetles generally appear to be in correlation with the larval populations estimated by soil sampling and bait trapping both in Northern and Southern regions. For example in Calabria example conspicuous numbers of A. lineatus males were caught in fields where only larvae of this species had been found in bait traps and damaged plants. Regional differences in swarming patterns of the same species were clearly detected. In Veneto and Emilia Romagna first studies to forecast the wireworm damage on maize were done by using the pheromone traps.

Acknowledgements: we thank very much Dr Giuseppe Platia who gave very helpful support to identifying the specimens and Dr Giancarlo Bourlot and Annalisa Turchi who organized and carried out the work in Piemonte