Longhorn beetles and predatory clerid beetles attracted to a blend of longhorn beetle pheromone compounds in a Central European oak forest (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Cleridae)

Abstract

A blend of longhorn beetle pheromones was tested as a generic attractant in a Central European oak forest. Overall, 20 cerambycid species totalling 1250 specimens were captured using two trap types. More adults of Phymatodes testaceus and Leiopus nebulosus nebulosus were attracted to pheromone-baited traps compared to solvent controls. Significant numbers of four other species were caught by panel traps but not funnel traps. For the cerambycine Pyrrhidium sanguineum, significantly more beetles were caught in treatment traps than controls. For the cerambycine Anaglyptus mysticus, lepturines Cortodera humeralis and Rhagium sycophanta, the numbers of beetles caught in treatment or control traps were similar, indicating no attraction to the lure blend. Adults of a predatory clerid beetle Clerus mutillarius were caught in significantly larger numbers by both baited trap types in comparison to controls, totalling 1514 specimens. Antennae of both sexes of C. mutillarius showed responses to 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and 2-methylbutan-1-ol, and males also responded to syn-2,3-hexanediol. Strong attraction of C. mutillarius suggests eavesdropping on the pheromones of cerambycids and that such attractant baits, without traps, might be used to manipulate the local population density of predators in a push-pull biological control program.