Identification of a male-produced sex-aggregation pheromone for a highly invasive cerambycid beetle, Aromia bungii

Tian Xu,Dejun Hao,Stephen A Teale,Akio Nakano,Midori Fukaya,Hiroe Yasui,Jacob D Wickham,Longwa Zhang,Satoshi Kiriyama,Nao Fujiwara-Tsujii,Takahito Watanabe,Masahiko Tokoro,Jocelyn G Millar,Laura Hansen

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07520-1

Abstract

The longhorned beetle Aromia bungii (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a major pest of stone fruit trees in the genus Prunus, including cherries, apricots, and peaches. Its native range includes China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Russia, but it has recently invaded and become established in several countries in Europe, and Japan, and it has been intercepted in shipments coming into North America and Australia. Here, we report the identification of its male-produced aggregation pheromone as the novel compound (E)-2-cis-6,7-epoxynonenal. In field trials in its native range in China, and in recently invaded areas of Japan, the pheromone attracted both sexes of the beetle. Thus, the pheromone should find immediate use in worldwide quarantine surveillance efforts to detect the beetle in incoming shipments. The pheromone will also be a crucial tool in ongoing efforts to eradicate the beetle from regions of the world that it has already invaded.

Highlights

The invasive wood-boring beetle Aromia bungii (Faldermann) (Coleoptera:Cerambycidae, subfamily Cerambycinae, tribe Callichromatini) (Fig. 1) infests trees in the genus Prunus, which includes a number of economically important stone fruit trees such as peaches, plums, cherries, and apricots[1, 2]
As part of an ongoing program to elucidate the chemical ecology of cerambycid beetles, we report here the identification of the male-produced sex-aggregation pheromone[10] of A. bungii
Extracts of headspace volatiles collected from male and female A. bungii in Japan were analyzed by coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD, Fig. 3), which showed that some extracts from males contained a sex-specific compound which elicited strong responses from beetle antennae

Summary

Introduction

The invasive wood-boring beetle Aromia bungii (Faldermann) (Coleoptera:Cerambycidae, subfamily Cerambycinae, tribe Callichromatini) (Fig. 1) infests trees in the genus Prunus, which includes a number of economically important stone fruit trees such as peaches, plums, cherries, and apricots[1, 2] It is one of only four species in the genus worldwide[1]. Aromia bungii is native to China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Russia, where its life cycle is reported to be from 2–4 years, depending on climate[3, 4] It recently has invaded and become established in Japan and several countries in Europe, including Italy[5] and Germany[6]. The pheromone was attractive to beetles of both sexes, and so should provide a valuable tool for use in ongoing worldwide efforts to detect, contain, and eradicate this economically important invasive species

Methods

Results

Conclusion