Abstract
Species-specific behavior-modifying chemicals have been used for more than 50 years for monitoring and management of insect pests of agriculture and human health. Elaterid beetle larvae are among insect pests in soil that are increasingly problematic, in part due to the lack of effective management strategies. However, little is known about the insect-produced chemicals that mediate the reproductive behavior of these pests. We used chemical and behavioral studies to identify, synthesize, and field test the sex attractant pheromone of adults of Melanotus communis, commonly called the corn wireworm, the larvae of which are economically important pests of U.S. crops. Our results indicated that a single female-produced chemical, 13-tetradecenyl acetate, was strongly attractive to conspecific male beetles, and did not appear to attract other species. In field evaluations, male M. communis exhibited a dose-dependent response to this compound. In a trial comparing different slow-release dispensers, a small rubber septum impregnated with the chemical was as effective as and easier to use than a plastic bag dispenser. Given that the sex attractant of this insect consists of a single compound that can be readily synthesized, its development for monitoring and management of the corn wireworm may be economically feasible.
Highlights
Species-specific behavior-modifying chemicals have been used for more than 50 years for monitoring and management of insect pests of agriculture and human health
Research groups in Japan identified and field-tested female-produced sex pheromones for M. okinawensis Ôhira[1,23] and M. sakishimensis Ôhira ((E)-9,11-dodecadienyl butyrate and (E)-9,11-dodecadienyl hexanoate)1,24. (E)-9,11-Dodecadienyl butyrate and (E)-9,11-dodecadienyl hexanoate have been identified in extracts from M. tamsuyensis Bates, but field trials with the two compounds were not reported[25]
Coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses of extracts of headspace volatiles collected from live female M. communis did not show peaks from any likely pheromone candidates, but only traces of hydrocarbons and contaminants
Summary
Species-specific behavior-modifying chemicals have been used for more than 50 years for monitoring and management of insect pests of agriculture and human health. We used chemical and behavioral studies to identify, synthesize, and field test the sex attractant pheromone of adults of Melanotus communis, commonly called the corn wireworm, the larvae of which are economically important pests of U.S crops. (E)-9,11-Dodecadienyl butyrate and (E)-9,11-dodecadienyl hexanoate have been identified in extracts from M. tamsuyensis Bates, but field trials with the two compounds were not reported[25] Practical applications for these pheromones have since been developed for monitoring purposes, and for control via mass trapping and mating disruption[20,21,26,27,28,29,30]. To our knowledge, it was never determined whether M. depressus females produced (E)11-tetradecenyl acetate and/or (E)-11-tetradecenol This fragmentary data from several Melanotus spp. from North America and Eurasia suggested that the pheromones of species in this genus are likely to be esters of saturated or unsaturated 12- or 14-carbon alcohols
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