AIMPLAS coordinates a project to manufacture more efficient and economic traps for Pine Processionary
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, coordinates the research tasks in order to design innovative traps for pine processionary, leaded to their use in urban or recreational areas, where spraying cannot be carried out in order to eliminate the pest. The European Project LIFE PISA will have as a result traps with a new design that will increase the percentage of captures, will be easier to place and will be more economic.
During the 36 months that the project will last, until July 2017, two kinds of traps will be involved: trunk traps and pheromone traps, they will be used to capture the insect in their two phases, caterpillar and moth respectively.
In the case of trunk traps, those used to capture caterpillars in their procession from the branches to the ground, there is currently a design problem that makes really difficult the fixation to the tree. It takes 20 minutes to a professional expert to correctly fix each one of them, therefore the objective is the introduction of improvements in the design in order to make easier this task and also increase the percentage of captures. Besides, to the production cost will be optimise, which is currently around 40 euros.
Pheromone traps consist of a device with feminine pheromones that attract males until capture them, so the reproduction of the species is stopped. The improvements in their design will be introduced thanks to this project and will also allow increasing the number of captures and will make easier its transportation, which is currently difficult due to their dimensions.
In the consortium constituted in order to carry out the project LIFE PISA (LIFE13 ENV/ES/000504) will participate, under the coordination of AIMPLAS, the University and the Region of Molise (Italia), the University of Thessaly and the Benaki Phytopathological Institute (Greece), the Forestry Commission (Scotland) and the manufacturer of insect traps SANSAN Prodesing S.L. (Spain). Besides, the Directorate of Rural Environment of the Valencian Region supports this development through their technical and logistic assistance.
