Likely Aggregation-Sex Pheromones of the Invasive Beetle Callidiellum villosulum, and the Related Asian Species Allotraeus asiaticus, Semanotus bifasciatus, and Xylotrechus buqueti (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) (original) (raw)

Identification of a Pheromone Component and a Critical Synergist for the Invasive Beetle Callidiellum rufipenne (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Environmental entomology, 2015

The invasive Asian cerambycid beetle Callidiellum rufipenne (Motschulsky), informally known as the Japanese cedar longhorned beetle, was first detected in North America in North Carolina in 1997. The beetle has since been detected in neighboring states and is expected to further expand its range. However, delineating the current distribution of C. rufipenne has been hindered by the lack of efficient sampling methods. Here, we present the results of research on the chemistry of volatile pheromones of C. rufipenne. Analyses of headspace odors revealed that males produce (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, with lesser amounts of (S)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, and (R)- and (S)-2-hydroxyhexan-3-one. In field bioassays conducted over several years in Connecticut, where populations of the beetle were well established, no reconstructed blend of these compounds was significantly attractive to beetles of either sex. However, during field trials in Japan that targeted another species, we discovered that adul...

The Role of Minor Pheromone Components in Segregating 14 Species of Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of the Subfamily Cerambycinae

Journal of Economic Entomology, 2019

We present research on the chemical ecology of 14 species of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), in four tribes of the subfamily Cerambycinae, conducted in east-central Illinois over 8 yr. Adult males produce aggregation-sex pheromones that attract both sexes. Twenty independent field bioassays explored the pheromone chemistry of the species and tested the possible attractive or antagonistic effects of compounds that are not produced by a given species, but are pheromone components of other species. Analyses of beetle-produced volatiles revealed compounds that had not been reported previously from several of the species. The most common pheromone component was (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, but pheromones of some species included isomers of the related 2,3-hexanediols. Males of the congeners Phymatodes amoenus (Say) and Phymatodes testaceus (L.) produced pure (R)-2-methylbutan-1-ol. Enantiomers of 2-methylbutan-1-ol also proved to be powerful synergists for Megacyllene caryae ...

Identification of a male-produced sex-aggregation pheromone for a highly invasive cerambycid beetle, Aromia bungii

Scientific reports, 2017

The longhorned beetle Aromia bungii (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a major pest of stone fruit trees in the genus Prunus, including cherries, apricots, and peaches. Its native range includes China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Russia, but it has recently invaded and become established in several countries in Europe, and Japan, and it has been intercepted in shipments coming into North America and Australia. Here, we report the identification of its male-produced aggregation pheromone as the novel compound (E)-2-cis-6,7-epoxynonenal. In field trials in its native range in China, and in recently invaded areas of Japan, the pheromone attracted both sexes of the beetle. Thus, the pheromone should find immediate use in worldwide quarantine surveillance efforts to detect the beetle in incoming shipments. The pheromone will also be a crucial tool in ongoing efforts to eradicate the beetle from regions of the world that it has already invaded.

Generic Lures Attract Cerambycid Beetles in a Tropical Montane Rain Forest in Southern China

Journal of Economic Entomology, 2014

The attraction of cerambycid beetles to 10 known cerambycid pheromones was tested in a tropical montane rain forest in southern China. From 28 May to 25 June 2010, 1,526 cerambycids representing 71 species were captured in pheromone-baited traps, with 14 species accounting for 92% of the specimens. Test compounds with a 3-hydroxyalkan-2-one or 2,3-alkanediol motif attracted signiÞcant numbers of both sexes for eight species in the subfamily Cerambycinae, including species of Demonax, Rhaphuma, and Xylotrechus. Rhaphuma horsfieldi (White) was the only species that was strongly attracted to more than one test compound, with signiÞcant attraction to both (2R*,3R*)-2,3-hexanediol and (2R*,3R*)-2,3-octanediol. Within the Lamiinae, males and females of Þve species were signiÞcantly attracted to 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol, including Acalolepta formosana (Breuning), Monochamus bimaculatus Gahan, Pharsalia subgemmata (Thomson), Pseudomacrochenus antennatus (Gahan), and Xenohammus bimaculatus Schwarzer. Only male Megopis costipennis White (Prioninae) were signiÞcantly attracted to (2R*,3S*)-2,3-octanediol, suggesting that this compound may be a sex pheromone component for this species. To date, 2,3-octanediols have only been reported as aggregation pheromone components for cerambycids in the subfamily Cerambycinae. Our results support the hypothesis that both closely related (congeners) and more distantly related cerambycid species (different tribes and even subfamilies) may share pheromone components. Our results also demonstrate that traps baited with even a limited number of different classes of pheromones may be useful tools for surveying cerambycid diversity, as well as for detecting and monitoring particular species, especially those that have the potential to be invasive pests in other parts of the world.

Isolation and identification of a male-produced aggregation-sex pheromone for the velvet longhorned beetle, Trichoferus campestris

Scientific Reports, 2019

The velvet longhorned beetle, Trichoferus campestris (Faldermann) (“VLB”; Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is native to eastern Asia where it infests and damages a wide range of deciduous and coniferous tree species, including orchard and timber species. Immature stages of VLB are transported to new countries via international commerce, and populations have established outside the native range of the species. Here, we show that identification of pheromones of invasive pest species can be expedited by knowledge of the semiochemistry of related taxa. Histological sectioning revealed subcuticular, male-specific prothoracic glands connected to pits in the cuticle, which, in related species, are diagnostic for production of male-produced aggregation-sex pheromones, usually characterized by 2,3-alkanediol/hydroxyketone structural motifs. However, in preliminary field bioassays, beetles were not attracted by any known cerambycid pheromones. Subsequently, we identified a novel variant of the hydr...

Interspecific Cross-Attraction between the South American Cerambycid Beetles Cotyclytus curvatus and Megacyllene acuta is Averted by Minor Pheromone Components

Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2018

During field screening trials conducted in Brazil in 2015, adults of both sexes of the cerambycid beetles Cotyclytus curvatus (Germar) and Megacyllene acuta (Germar) (subfamily Cerambycinae, tribe Clytini) were significantly attracted to racemic 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and racemic 2-methylbutan-1-ol, chemicals which previously have been identified as male-produced aggregation-sex pheromones of a number of cerambycid species endemic to other continents. Subsequent analyses of samples of beetle-produced volatiles revealed that males of C. curvatus sex-specifically produce only (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, whereas males of M. acuta produce the same compound along with lesser amounts of (2S,3S)-2,3-hexanediol and (S)-2-methylbutan-1-ol. Follow-up field trials showed that both sexes of both species were attracted to synthetic reconstructions of their respective pheromones, confirming that males produce aggregation-sex pheromones. The minor pheromone components of M. acuta, (S)-2-methylbutan-1-ol and (2S,3S)-2,3-hexanediol, synergized attraction of that species, but antagonized attraction of C. curvatus to (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one. Beetles of other cerambycine species also were attracted in significant numbers, including Chrysoprasis linearis Bates, Cotyclytus dorsalis (Laporte & Gory), and Megacyllene falsa (Chevrolat). Our results provide further evidence that 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one is a major component of attractant pheromones of numerous cerambycine species worldwide. Our results also highlight our increasing understanding of the crucial role of minor pheromone components in imparting species specificity to cerambycid pheromone blends, as is known to occur in numerous species in other insect families.

2-Nonanone is a Critical Pheromone Component for Cerambycid Beetle Species Native to North and South America

Environmental Entomology, 2021

An increasing body of evidence indicates that cerambycid beetles native to different continents may share pheromone components, suggesting that these compounds arose as pheromone components early in the evolution of the family. Here, we describe the identification and field testing of the pheromone blends of two species in the subfamily Cerambycinae that share 2-nonanone as an important component of their male-produced aggregation-sex pheromones, the South American Stizocera consobrina Gounelle (tribe Elaphidiini) and the North American Heterachthes quadrimaculatus Haldeman (tribe Neoibidionini). Along with 2-nonanone, males of S. consobrina also produce 1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-1,2-propanedione, whereas males of H. quadrimaculatus produce 10-methyldodecanol. Field bioassays conducted in Brazil (targeting S. consobrina) and Illinois (targeting H. quadrimaculatus) demonstrated that adults of both species were attracted only by the blends of both their pheromone components, and not to the i...

Evidence of Aggregation–Sex Pheromone Use by Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Species Native to Africa

Environmental Entomology, 2018

During field bioassays in Kenya of 10 chemicals that are common pheromone components of cerambycid beetles, six species in the subfamily Cerambycinae were significantly attracted to 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, and one species in the subfamily Lamiinae was significantly attracted to 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol (known as monochamol). These results further demonstrate that the former compound is highly conserved as a cerambycid pheromone because it has now been identified or implicated in the pheromones of numerous cerambycine species native to all six habitable continents. Similarly, monochamol has been identified or implicated as a pheromone component for species in the subfamily Lamiinae native to Asia, Europe, North America, and now Africa. The eight other compounds tested, including (E)-6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-ol (fuscumol), the corresponding (E)-6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-yl acetate (fuscumol acetate), syn-and anti-(2,3)-hexanediols and (2,3)-octanediols, 3-hydroxyoctan-2-one, and 3-hydroxydecan-2-one, did not attract significant numbers of any species.

The Aggregation Pheromone of Phyllotreta striolata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Revisited

Journal of chemical ecology, 2016

Aggregations of the striped flea beetle Phyllotreta striolata on their crucifer host plants are mediated by volatiles emitted from feeding males. The male-specific sesquiterpene, (6R,7S)-himachala-9,11-diene (compound A), was shown previously to be physiologically and behaviorally active, but compound A was attractive only when combined with unnaturally high doses of the host plant volatile allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) in field trapping experiments. This indicated that our understanding of the chemical communication in this species is incomplete. Another male-specific sesquiterpenoid, (3S,9R,9aS)-3-hydroxy-3,5,5,9-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8,9,9a-hexahydro-1H-benzo[7]annulen-2(3H)-one (compound G), has been reported from an American P. striolata population. We confirmed the presence of compound G, and investigated its interaction with compound A and AITC in a P. striolata population in Taiwan. Compound G was attractive to Taiwanese P. striolata in laboratory bioassays, but significantly more...

Common Cerambycid Pheromone Components as Attractants for Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae) Breeding in Ephemeral Oak Substrates in Northern Europe

Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2019

Longhorn beetles are ecologically important insects in forest ecosystems as decomposers of woody substrates, microhabitat engineers, and as components of forest food webs. These species can be greatly affected both positively and negatively by modern forestry management practices, and should be monitored accordingly. Through headspace sampling, coupled gas chromatographyelectroantennography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and field bioassays, we identified two compounds, 2-methyl-1butanol and 3-hydroxy-2-hexanone, that constitute aggregation-sex pheromone attractants of three cerambycid species which breed primarily in different types of fresh, recently dead oak wood in Northern Europe: Pyrrhidium sanguineum (L.), Phymatodes alni ssp. alni (L.), and Phymatodes testaceus (L.) (Cerambycinae: Callidiini). Analyses of headspace volatiles collected from live insects indicated that the male-produced aggregation-sex pheromone of P. sanguineum is a 1-15:100 blend of (R)-2-methyl-1-butanol and (R)-3-hydroxy-2hexanone, whereas the corresponding ratios for P. alni were 70-110:100. In field bioassays, adult P. sanguineum and P. alni were significantly attracted to multiple blends with varying ratios of the two compounds. When tested individually, the compounds were minimally attractive. In contrast, adult P. testaceus exhibited nonspecific attraction to both of the individual compounds and to different blends, despite the hydroxyketone not being part of its pheromone, which consists of (R)-2-methyl-1-butanol alone. Overall, our results suggest that a blend of 50:100 of racemic 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-hydroxy-2-hexanone is appropriate for parallel, cost-efficient pheromone-based monitoring of all three species. In particular, these species could serve as useful indicators of how modern forestry practices affect a whole guild of saproxylic insects that require ephemeral deadwood substrates for successful breeding.