Canadian Forest Service Publications
Semiochemical attractants for the beech leaf-mining weevil, Orchestes fagi. 2017. Silk, P.J.; Mayo, P.D.; LeClair, G.; Brophy, M.; Pawlowski, S.; MacKay, C.; Hillier, N.K.; Hughes, C.; Sweeney, J.D. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 164: 102-112.
Year: 2017
Issued by: Atlantic Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 39619
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.1111/eea.12603
† This site may require a fee
Abstract
The beech leaf-mining weevil, Orchestes fagi L. (Curculionidae: Curculioninae: Rhamphini), a pest of European beech, Fagus sylvatica L. (Fagaceae), was recently discovered infesting American beech, Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., in Nova Scotia, Canada. Adult O. fagi feed on both young and mature leaves of beech as well as on other species (e.g., raspberry, Rubus spp.), but oviposition and larval feeding are restricted to beech. Females oviposit in young developing beech leaves at the time of bud burst. We characterized volatiles emitted from buds, leaves, and sapwood of American beech and examined their potential as attractants alone or when combined with other weevil pheromones for O. fagi. We predicted that adults would be attracted to volatiles emitted from beech leaves, especially those emitted from bursting beech buds. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses of volatiles collected from buds at pre- and post-budburst identified two diterpene hydrocarbons, 9-geranyl-p-cymene (1) and 9-geranyl-a-terpinene (2a), that were emitted in large amounts at the time of bud burst. Compound 1 significantly increased mean catch of males and total O. fagi (but not females) on sticky traps compared with unbaited controls. Y-tube bioassays confirmed attraction of male O. fagi to bursting beech buds and compound 1. Attraction of male O. fagi to 1, emitted in large quantities from American beech, is likely adaptive because both oviposition and mating of O. fagi coincide with budburst. Our data suggest that traps baited with 1 may be useful for monitoring the spread of O. fagi in North America.
Plain Language Summary
The beech leaf-mining weevil, a pest of European beech, was recently discovered infesting American beech, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Adults feed on both young and mature leaves of beech as well as on other species (e.g., raspberry), but oviposition and larval feeding are restricted to beech. Females oviposit in young developing beech leaves at the time of bud burst. We characterized volatiles emitted from buds, leaves, and sapwood of American beech and examined their potential as attractants alone or when combined with other weevil pheromones for the weevil. We predicted that adults would be attracted to volatiles emitted from beech leaves, especially those emitted from bursting beech buds. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses of volatiles collected from buds at pre- and post-budburst identified two diterpene hydrocarbons, 9-geranyl-p-cymene (gpc) and 9-geranyl-a-terpinene , that were emitted in large amounts at the time of bud burst. Gpc significantly increased mean catch of males and total weevils (but not females) on sticky traps compared with unbaited controls. Y-tube bioassays confirmed attraction of male weevils to bursting beech buds and gpc.