The influence of topical applications of fluorescent dyes or rubidium chloride (RbCl) solution, or both, on adult male spruce budworm longevity and attraction to and capture by pheromone-baited traps was investigated. Both marks persisted for at least 8 days in the field (duration of tests) and for at least 3 weeks in the laboratory. Recoveries of marked moths were similar to unmarked moths with respect to total recovery and timing and location (within the canopy) of recovery. The results validate the assumption implicit in previous mark–release–recapture studies on spruce budworm males that fluorescent dyes have no measurable effect on male trapping. A 0.41 M RbCl solution topically applied to laboratory-reared adult males is an efficient mass-marking technique for the spruce budworm.