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A Symmetrical Diester as the Sex Attractant Pheromone of the North American Click Beetle Parallelostethus attenuatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

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Abstract

Hexanoic acid, 1-octanol, 1,8-octanediol, octyl hexanoate, 1,8-octanediol monohexanoate, and 1,8-octanediol dihexanoate were identified in headspace volatiles collected from the crushed abdomen of a female click beetle of the species Parallelostethus attenuatus (Say) (Elaterinae, tribe Elaterini). In field trials carried out in Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, adult male beetles were strongly attracted to 1,8-octanediol dihexanoate alone. Blends of the dihexanoate with one or more of the other compounds proved to be less attractive than the dihexanoate alone, suggesting that the pheromone of this species may consist of a single compound. The symmetrical diester structure of the pheromone is a novel natural product and appears to be structurally unique among insect pheromones.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Aaron Blue, Emma Schoeppner, Kelly McIntyre, and Lance Lawrence for assistance with field work. We appreciate funding support from the USDA-ARS State Potato Partnership Funds projects 2092-22000-022-00D and 6080-22000-030-00D.

Funding

LMH, JGM, ASH, TPK, and LW III appreciate funding support from the USDA-ARS State Potato Partnership Funds projects 2092-22000-022-00D and 6080-22000-030-00D.

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Author notes

  1. Jacqueline M. Serrano

    Present address: USDA-ARS Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit, 5230 Konnowac Pass Rd., Wapato, WA, 98951, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Ave., Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Jocelyn G. Millar, Jacqueline M. Serrano & Sean Halloran

  2. USDA-ARS U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, 2700 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC, 29414, USA

    Livy Williams III

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

    Anna C. Grommes & Lawrence M. Hanks

  4. Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    Anders S. Huseth

  5. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Thomas P. Kuhar

Authors
  1. Jocelyn G. Millar
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Contributions

JGM, LW III, and LMH secured the funding in support of the work described. JGM identified and synthesized possible pheromone compounds and contributed to writing the manuscript. LW III, ASH, and TPK carried out field trials and contributed sections of the manuscript. JMS and SH prepared and carried out analyses of pheromone extracts. ACG assisted with field trials in Illinois. LMH organized the field work in Illinois, carried out the data analyses, and contributed to writing the manuscript. All authors assisted in editing and polishing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jocelyn G. Millar.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Millar, J.G., Williams, L., Serrano, J.M. et al. A Symmetrical Diester as the Sex Attractant Pheromone of the North American Click Beetle Parallelostethus attenuatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Elateridae). J Chem Ecol 48, 598–608 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-022-01360-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-022-01360-8

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