Abstract
Plagionotus arcuatus ssp. arcuatus (L.) is a common saproxylic cerambycid beetle in most parts of Europe, and is designated as an occasional pest of oak wood that is stored outside during the summer months. In an effort to identify attractants that can be used for monitoring this species, we collected headspace samples from adult beetles and conducted field bioassays with the resulting compounds as potential aggregation-sex pheromone components for this species. Three compounds, (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, (R)-3-hydroxyoctan-2-one, and (R)-3-hydroxydecan-2-one, were consistently present in relatively large quantities in headspace extracts from male P. arcuatus populations in both Hungary and Sweden, regardless of the adsorbent media (activated charcoal or Porapak™ Q) used to sample beetle odors, or the type of solvent (hexane, diethyl ether, or dichloromethane) used to elute trapped volatiles from the collectors. None of the hydroxyketone and related compounds were detected in corresponding extracts from females. In field bioassays in both countries, the blend of the C6 and C10 compounds, and the ternary blend both attracted significantly more beetles than the control, while other combinations or single compounds were not significantly attractive. Males and females showed similar patterns of responses to treatments. Our results demonstrate that (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and (R)-3-hydroxydecan-2-one constitute a male-produced aggregation-sex pheromone of P. arcuatus, whereas the role of (R)-3-hydroxyoctan-2-one remains unclear. Lures with the pheromone could be developed for monitoring of P. arcuatus populations as an indicator of fresh oak wood resources.
Highlights
Materials and methodsThe longhorn beetle Plagionotus arcuatus ssp. arcuatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a common saproxylic beetle in most parts of Europe (Jeniš 2001; Ehnström and Holmer 2007; Keszthelyi 2015; Klausnitzer et al 2016)
The subspecies studied in this work is the nominate subspecies, but five other subspecies have been described from Asia and southeastern Europe (Greece and Turkey) (Danilevsky 2018)
Three compounds were consistently present in relatively large quantities in the headspace extracts from male P. arcuatus of both populations, their relative proportions were variable (Table 2)
Summary
Materials and methodsThe longhorn beetle Plagionotus arcuatus ssp. arcuatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a common saproxylic beetle in most parts of Europe (Jeniš 2001; Ehnström and Holmer 2007; Keszthelyi 2015; Klausnitzer et al 2016). Arcuatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a common saproxylic beetle in most parts of Europe (Jeniš 2001; Ehnström and Holmer 2007; Keszthelyi 2015; Klausnitzer et al 2016). The species has occasionally been designated as a pest because it can damage recently cut oak wood stored outdoors (Ehnström and Axelsson 2002; Keszthelyi et al 2017). Males of many species within this tribe have been shown to produce aggregation-sex pheromones, which often are composed of hydroxyalkanones and the related 2,3-alkanediols (Millar and Hanks 2017). Arcuatus), reporting that males produced a homologous series of 3hydroxyalkan-2-ones with primarily even-numbered chain lengths from C6 to C12, of which 3-hydroxydecan-2-one and 2-hydroxydecan-3-one were the main components. Traces of the corresponding 2,3-alkanediones were noted, but not the analogous 2,3-alkanediols. Despite the rather thorough analysis of extracts of the headspace volatiles released by males of P. arcuatus (Schröder 1996), to our knowledge, bioassays to verify the biological functions of the male-produced compounds were not carried out
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