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Plant volatiles moderate response to aggregation pheromone in Colorado potato beetle
Author(s) -
Dickens J. C.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1439-0418
pISSN - 0931-2048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2005.01014.x
Subject(s) - nonanal , pheromone , biology , methyl salicylate , sex pheromone , colorado potato beetle , semiochemical , electroantennography , linalool , attraction , botany , kairomone , leptinotarsa , nerolidol , horticulture , pest analysis , food science , essential oil , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , host (biology)
The orientation of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata , to a male‐produced aggregation pheromone, ( S )‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2‐oxo‐oct‐6‐ene‐1,3‐diol, a three‐component plant attractant blend [comprised of ( Z )‐3‐hexenyl acetate + (±)‐linalool + methyl salicylate], and other potato volatiles (nonanal and 2‐phenylethanol) were tested. All compounds were previously shown to be active in coupled gas chromatography/electroantennogram experiments. Both the three‐component plant attractant blend and 2‐phenylethanol were attractive to adult beetles. While male beetles oriented preferentially to both plant attractants vs. a control, females showed little preference. Combining the plant attractants with the pheromone resulted in sexually dimorphic responses similar to those seen with either plant attractant alone. Addition of nonanal abolished the sexually dimorphic response to the pheromone + 2‐phenylethanol blend; the new three‐component blend was attractive to both sexes. In both laboratory bioassays and field experiments, a combination of the pheromone + the three‐component plant attractant was preferred over the plant attractant alone. Thus, it seems likely that combinations of pheromone + plant volatiles may be the most efficacious for field use.