Abstract
The fig tree weevil Aclees sp. cf. foveatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), introduced in Italy in 2005, is currently causing significant economic and environmental losses to fig tree nurseries and orchards in Central Italy. Fig damages are due to the adults feeding on leaves and fruits, and to the galleries dug by the xylophagous larvae in the trunk, which lead the plants to death. To date, no chemical or biological control methods resulted to be effective against this invasive pest. In order to gain information about possible semiochemicals involved in mate recognition and choice, both the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the epicuticular lipids of male and female specimens were analysed. VOCs emissions of specimens were characterized essentially by monoterpenes, while epicuticular lipids contained long chained 2-ketones, alkanes, alkenes, including some methyl alkenes, and several fatty acid propyl esters. The attractiveness of reconstituted VOCs blends of the two sexes was tested in electrophysiological and behavioural assays in laboratory conditions. Both the male and the female reconstituted VOCs drove a significant response towards individuals of the opposite sex, thus demonstrating features of sexual attractants. Our results suggest a possible application of VOCs blends as pheromonic attractants in field monitoring and mass trapping of Aclees sp. cf. foveatus.
Highlights
The fig tree weevil Aclees sp. cf. foveatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), introduced in Italy in 2005, is currently causing significant economic and environmental losses to fig tree nurseries and orchards in Central Italy
The aim of the present study was to investigate and characterize the semiochemicals involved in intraspecific communication of A. sp. cf. foveatus, to establish a possible pheromonic nature of these compounds, and to lay the foundations for the development of an attractant source that could be exploited for monitoring and mass trapping purposes in an integrated pest management (IPM) perspective
Males and females of A. sp. cf. foveatus were found to differ both for the volatile emission and for their epicuticular lipids; while for these latter the differences were merely due to the relative amounts of their components, a few sex-specific compounds were found in the volatile mixtures
Summary
The fig tree weevil Aclees sp. cf. foveatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), introduced in Italy in 2005, is currently causing significant economic and environmental losses to fig tree nurseries and orchards in Central Italy. Plant damage is due to adult feeding on leaves and early stage fruits but mostly to the feeding behaviour of the larvae, which live as xylophagous in all the woody parts of the plant, causing the complete destruction of xylem and phloem, so leading the plant to death[4]. This pest, initially identified as A. cribratus Gyllenhal 18352, has been subsequently found to have closer morphological similarity with A. foveatus Voss 19325. The aim of the present study was to investigate and characterize the semiochemicals involved in intraspecific communication of A. sp. cf. foveatus, to establish a possible pheromonic nature of these compounds, and to lay the foundations for the development of an attractant source that could be exploited for monitoring and mass trapping purposes in an integrated pest management (IPM) perspective
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