Enantiomer Preference of Trypodendron lineatum and Effect of Pheromone Dose and Trap Length on Response to Lineatin-baited Traps in Interior British Columbia

Abstract

Both enantiomers of the aggregation pheromone lineatin were obtained in very high enantiomeric purity by preparative chiral liquid chromatography on microcrystalline cellulose triacetate. Catches of the striped ambrosia beetle, Trypodendron lineatum, in multiple-funnel traps baited with lineatin enatiomer ratios (plus/minus) of 100 : 0, 75 : 25, 50 : 50, 25 : 75, and 0 : 100, demonstrated that (+)-lineatin is the only active enantiomer in interior British Columbia, where two other Trypodendron species are sympatric. In additional experiments using (±)-lineatin, catches of both sexes increased significantly with trap length, either at a constant pheromone dose per trap, or a constant dose per four-funnel unit, up to 16 funnels per trap. When trap length was held constant at eight funnels, increasing the lineatin dose fourfold had no effect on trap catches.