Monoterpene emissions and cuticular lipids of loblolly and slash pines: potential bases for oviposition preference of the Nantucket pine tip moth

Abstract

Monoterpene emissions from intact 5- to 29-month-old loblolly and slash pine seedlings contained α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, sabinene, β-phellandrene, and limonene. α-Pinene made up > 50% of the volatiles from both species. β-Pinene was significantly more abundant in slash (35.6%) than in loblolly pine (15.3%), while myrcene was significantly more abundant in loblolly (10.9%) than in slash pine (3.4%). Cuticular lipids represented 0.11 and 0.06% of the dry weight biomass of shoots from loblolly and slash pines, respectively. Species differences in cuticular lipid composition were primarily in relative proportions of a group of unidentified compounds that appear to be saturated and unsaturated diols and (or) hydroxy alcohols with chain lengths of about 18 carbons. 10-Nonacosanol made up 16.2 and 14.1% of the total lipids recovered from loblolly and slash pines, respectively. The Nantucket pine tip moth, Rhyacionia frustrana (Comstock), may use these chemical differences to distinguish the susceptible loblolly pines from the resistant slash pines. Key words: Pinus taeda, Pinus elliottii, monoterpene emissions, cuticular lipids, Rhyacionia frustrana.