Two-tier box trap catches Chrysops atlanticus and C. fuliginosus (Diptera: Tabanidae) near a Georgia salt marsh.

A new two-tier box trap designed for collecting Chrysops was tested on St. Simons Island, GA. The bottom box was constructed of plywood 1.2 m wide with the sides painted flat black on the outside and glossy off-white on the interior. The upper box was of similar construction, but painted glossy off-white. The bottom edge of the lower box was 0.6 m above the ground, and the bottom edge of the upper box was 1.8 m above the ground (0.6 m above the top of the lower box). In some trials, a glossy black beach ball was suspended below the center of the box and 1-octen-3-ol was dispensed midway between the boxes. Significantly more Chrysops fuliginosus Wiedemann and C. atlanticus Pechuman were collected in the upper box than in the lower box. A glossy spherical target and the presence of 1-octen-3-ol increased the catch of C. atlanticus in the upper box.