Premium
Benzaldehyde: an alfalfa‐related compound for the spring attraction of the pest weevil Sitona humeralis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
Author(s) -
Lohonyai Zsófia,
Vuts József,
Kárpáti Zsolt,
Koczor Sándor,
Domingue Michael J,
Fail József,
Birkett Michael A,
Tóth Miklós,
Imrei Zoltán
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.5431
Subject(s) - curculionidae , weevil , olfactometer , biology , pest analysis , attraction , arthropod mouthparts , integrated pest management , botany , benzaldehyde , host (biology) , agronomy , zoology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , catalysis
BACKGROUND Sitona weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are a species complex comprising pests of many leguminous crops worldwide, causing damage to young plants as adults and to rootlets as larvae, resulting in significant yield losses. Timely detection of migrating adult weevils is needed to determine when deployment of control measures becomes necessary. With the aim of developing plant volatile‐based lures for Sitona spp. detection, we investigated the responses of S. humeralis to host plant‐related aromatic compounds. RESULTS In olfactometer studies, both male and female S. humeralis responded positively to the odour of alfalfa flowers, a source of aromatic volatiles. In single sensillum recordings, basiconic sensilla located on the third and fourth terminal segments of the antennal club of both sexes were found to respond to benzaldehyde at doses of 10 −5 and 10 −4 g, suggesting that the weevil is able to detect this compound at the peripheral sensory level. In field studies, S. humeralis was attracted to benzaldehyde in the spring, but not in the autumn. CONCLUSION Benzaldehyde, as described in this study, may be a suitable candidate for the development of monitoring tools for S. humeralis . © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry