Abstract
We report here that (4R,9Z)-hexadec-9-en-4-olide [(R)-desmolactone] is a sex attractant or sex pheromone for multiple species and subspecies in the cerambycid genus Desmocerus. This compound was previously identified as a female-produced sex attractant pheromone of Desmocerus californicus californicus. Headspace volatiles from female Desmocerus aureipennis aureipennis contained (R)-desmolactone, and the antennae of adult males of two species responded strongly to synthetic (R)-desmolactone in coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram analyses. In field bioassays in California, Oregon, and British Columbia, traps baited with synthetic (R)-desmolactone captured males of several Desmocerus species and subspecies. Only male beetles were captured, indicating that this compound acts as a sex-specific attractant, rather than as a signal for aggregation. In targeted field bioassays, males of the US federally threatened subspecies Desmocerus californicus dimorphus responded to the synthetic attractant in a dose dependent manner. Our results represent the first example of a “generic” sex pheromone used by multiple species in the subfamily Lepturinae, and demonstrate that pheromone-baited traps may be a sensitive and efficient method of monitoring the threatened species Desmocerus californicus dimorphus, commonly known as the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
Highlights
Volatile pheromones are widely used for detection, monitoring, and in some cases, control of insect pests [1], [2], and a substantial amount of research has been devoted to the development of methods to exploit pheromones for effective pest management
In bioassays in California testing attraction to synthetic pheromone, traps baited with (R)-desmolactone captured 33 male valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB), whereas traps baited with racemic desmolactone captured a single male (Table 2)
During bioassays in British Columbia, traps baited with (R)-desmolactone captured 232 males of D. aureipennis cribripennis, whereas traps baited with the racemate captured 168 males, and traps baited with the (S)-desmolactone and control treatments caught one male each (Table 2)
Summary
Volatile pheromones are widely used for detection, monitoring, and in some cases, control of insect pests [1], [2], and a substantial amount of research has been devoted to the development of methods to exploit pheromones for effective pest management These efforts have included the development of pheromonebased monitoring methods for invasive insect pests such as the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.) and the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica Newman [3], [4]. Such methods are useful for detection of invasive species because of their sensitivity and selectivity, i.e., pheromone-baited traps can be used to detect very low density populations, such as occur when an invasive pest is first introduced, with minimal cross-attraction of non-target species [5]. Despite these obvious advantages, pheromonebased methods have been exploited for these purposes in only a very few cases (e.g., the moth Actias (5 Graellsia) isabellae (Graells) [7], [8]; wood cockroaches as food for endangered bird species [9]; the scarab beetle Osmoderma eremita Scopoli and the click beetle Elater ferrugineus L. [10]) in part because of the high cost of identifying and developing pheromones as a means to study populations of rare or endangered species [10]
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