Increase of trap catches by a
combination of male sex
pheromones and floral attractant
in longhorn beetle,
Alaglyptus subfasciatus (Coleoptera:
Cerambycidae)
Copyright
K. Nakamuta 1 , T. Gotoh 2 ,
M. Tokoro 1 & T. Nakashima 1
1 Forest Biol. Div., Forestry &
Forest Prod. Res. Inst. (FFPRI),
P. O. Box 16, Tsukuba Norin
Kenkyu Danchi-nai, 305-8687,
Tsukuba, Japan; 2 Tohoku Res.
Center, FFPRI, Nabeyashiki 72,
Shimokuriyagawa, Morioka,
020-0123, Japan
Anaglyptus
subfasciatus
(Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is
one of the most harmful insect
pests of the Japanese cedar,
Cryptomeria japonica, and
the Japanese cypress,
Chamaecyparis obtusa, the
most abundant tree species of
forest plantations in Japan.
Females of the beetles lay their
eggs on the dead twigs of the
cedar or the cypress and the
larvae bore into the twigs and
migrate further into the tree
trunk. Feeding by the larvae on
sapwood followed by fungal
infection causes discoloration
and decay of the wood, resulting
in a decrease of the commercial
value of timbers. Since A.
subfasciatus males and
females were known to congregate
on several species of flowers
for feeding, floral scents and
their structural similarities
have been screened both in the
laboratory and in the field.
Methyl phenylacetate has been
demonstrated as the most
attractive and highly specific
to A. subfasciatus and
has been used as the most
reliable floral attractant for
A. subfasciatus in
practice. A. subfasciatus
females were attracted to males
in a wind tunnel and that a
male-specific cuticular
structure in the pronotum seems
to be an organ of pheromone
excretion. Furthermore, the
male-released sex pheromone
constituents of the beetle are
identified as a 7:1 blend of
(R)-3-hydroxy-2-hexanone and
(R)-3-hydroxy-2-octanone. We
have observed that the beetles
were attracted to the trap
baited with floral attractant
alone, but they walked around
the tree trunks or logs near the
trap. Therefore we tested
whether a combination of male
sex pheromone constituents and
the floral attractant improved
pinpoint location of the beetles
and increased the trap catches.
In the present paper we report
that the trap catches of the
female beetles were increased by
a combination of male sex
pheromone constituents and the
floral attractant.
Index terms:
attraction, Methyl phenylacetate,
(R)-3-hydroxy-2-hexanone,
(R)-3-hydroxy-2- octanone
Copyright:
The copyrights of this
original work belong to the
authors (see right-most box
in title table). This
abstract appeared in Session
4 – CHEMICAL AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY
Symposium and Poster
Session, ABSTRACT BOOK I –
XXI-International Congress
of Entomology, Brazil,
August 20-26, 2000.