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Using Generic Pheromone Lures to Expedite Identification of Aggregation Pheromones for the Cerambycid Beetles Xylotrechus nauticus, Phymatodes lecontei, and Neoclytus modestus modestus

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Abstract

Males of several species of longhorned beetles in the subfamily Cerambycinae produce sex or aggregation pheromones consisting of 2,3-hexanediols and/or hydroxyhexanones. We tested the hypothesis that this diol/hydroxyketone pheromone motif is highly conserved within the subfamily, and the resulting prediction that multiple cerambycine species will be attracted to compounds of this type. We also tested the concept that live traps baited with generic blends of these compounds could be used as a source of live insects from which pheromones could be collected and identified. Traps placed in a mature oak woodland and baited with generic blends of racemic 2-hydroxyhexan-3-one and 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one captured adults of both sexes of three cerambycine species: Xylotrechus nauticus (Mannerheim), Phymatodes lecontei Linsley, and Phymatodes decussatus decussatus (LeConte). Odors collected from male X. nauticus contained a 9:1 ratio of two male-specific compounds, (R)- and (S)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one. Field trials with synthetic compounds determined that traps baited with (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one (94% ee), alone or in blends with other isomers, attracted similar numbers of X. nauticus of both sexes, whereas (S)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one (94% ee) attracted significantly fewer beetles. Phymatodes lecontei and P. d. decussatus also were caught in traps baited with hydroxyhexanones, as well as a few specimens of two other cerambycine species, Neoclytus modestus modestus Fall (both sexes) and Brothylus gemmulatus LeConte (only females). Male N. m. modestus produced (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, which was not present in extracts from females. Neoclytus m. modestus of both sexes also responded to lures that included (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one as one of the components. The only male-specific compound found in extracts from P. lecontei was (R)-2-methylbutan-1-ol, and adults of both sexes were attracted to racemic 2-methylbutan-1-ol in field bioassays. Surprisingly, P. lecontei of both sexes also were attracted to (R)- and (S)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-ones, although neither compound was detected in extracts from this species. Males of all five beetle species had gland pores on their prothoraces that were similar in structure to those that have been associated with volatile pheromone production in other cerambycine species. The attraction of multiple cerambycine species of two tribes to (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one in this study, and in earlier studies with other cerambycine species, suggests that this compound is a widespread aggregation pheromone component in this large and diverse subfamily. Overall, the attraction of multiple species from different cerambycine tribes to this compound at a single field site supports the hypothesis that the hydroxyketone pheromone structural motif is highly conserved within this subfamily.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Frank Hovore (deceased), Douglas Yanega, and Ian Swift for assistance with identification of beetle species, Scott Robinson for help with SEM and histological sectioning work, Adam Martinsek for assistance with the statistical analysis, James Nardi for access to microscopy equipment, and Mariana Krugner and Ian Wright for technical assistance. We thank Carole Bell and Santa Rosa Plateau Reserve, Riverside Co., California, for access to field sites. The SEM and histology research was made possible through collaboration with Bugscope, The Imaging Technology Group, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/). This project was supported by funds from the Exotic/Invasive Pests and Diseases Research Program, University of California, under USDA-CSREES Grant No. 2004-34439-14691, the Alphawood Foundation of Chicago, and Hatch Project #CA-R*ENT-5181H to JGM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA

    Lawrence M. Hanks, Emerson S. Lacey & Ann M. Ray

  2. Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, 92521, USA

    Jocelyn G. Millar, Jardel A. Moreira, J. Steven McElfresh & F. Ray Reuter

  3. Parma Research and Extension Center, University of Idaho, Parma, Idaho, 83660-6590, USA

    James D. Barbour

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  1. Lawrence M. Hanks
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Correspondence to Lawrence M. Hanks.

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Hanks, L.M., Millar, J.G., Moreira, J.A. et al. Using Generic Pheromone Lures to Expedite Identification of Aggregation Pheromones for the Cerambycid Beetles Xylotrechus nauticus, Phymatodes lecontei, and Neoclytus modestus modestus . J Chem Ecol 33, 889–907 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9275-4

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