Canadian Forest Service Publications

Response of the woodborers Monochamus carolinensis and Monochamus titillator (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) to know cerambycid pheromones in the presence and absence of the host plant volatile a-pinene. 2012. Allison, J.D.; McKenney, J.L,; Millar, J.G.; McElfresh, S.; Mitchell, R.F.; Hanks, L.M. Environmental Entomology 41(6):1587-1596.

Year: 2012

Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Catalog ID: 35616

Language: English

Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)

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Abstract

In recent years, several attractant pheromones have been identified for cerambycid beetles, including 2-(undecyloxy)-ethanol (hereafter monochamol) for Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier), M. alternatus Hope, and M. scutellatus (Say). This study screened eight known cerambycid pheromones or their analogues (including monochamol) as potential attractants for M. carolinensis Olivier and M. titillator (F.), in the presence and absence of the host volatile α-pinene. Monochamol attracted M. carolinensis in the presence and absence of α-pinene, whereas M. titillator was only attracted to the combination of monochamol and α-pinene. (2R*,3R*)-2,3-Hexanediol also attracted both M. carolinensis and M. titillator, but only in the presence of α-pinene. Subsequent coupled gas chromatography—mass spectrometry and gas chromatography—electroantennogram detection analyses of extracts of volatiles collected from both sexes demonstrated that male M. carolinensis and M. titillator release monochamol, and that antennae of males and females of both species detect it. These results indicate that monochamol is a male-produced pheromone for both M. carolinensis and M. titillator.

Plain Language Summary

: We tested the attractiveness of eight pheromones or their analogues with and without the host volatile α-pinene to two species of longhorned beetles in the genus Monochamus (sawyer beetles) in central Louisiana. These beetles play critical roles in nutrient cycling in forests, but larval feeding can result in significant economic losses due to mortality and degradation of the wood for lumber from larval tunnelling. Field trapping tests suggested that monochamol is a pheromone for both species. We used gas chromatography techniques to confirm that monochamol is a male-produced pheromone for the two species.