Fielding a strong defense: optimizing the effectiveness of pheromone-based lures for detection of cerambycid beetles

The Cerambycidae is a large family of wood-boring beetles, consisting of many economically important pests. Male cerambycids in the subfamilies Cerambycinae and Lamiinae emit aggregation-sex pheromones that attract both sexes. When synthetized, these pheromones can be exploited for monitoring and managing pest species. I determined whether varying the dose of chemicals used in pheromone lures affected the beetle capture rate. The first set of experiments targeted two cerambycine species whose pheromones are composed primarily of (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one (3R-ketol): Neoclytus mucronatus mucronatus (F.) and Xylotrechus colonus (F.). Other experiments targeted several species in the subfamily Lamiinae, whose pheromones are based on hydroxyethers, terpenoids, or sulcatone. Traps were baited with varying doses of chemical (i.e., lures with varying release rates) ranging from zero to 1000 mg (neat). In addition to racemic 3-ketol, we varied dosages of 2-methylbutan-1-ol (methylbutanol), (E)-6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-yl acetate (fuscumol acetate) and 6-methylhept-5-en-2-ol (sulcatol). Adults of N. m. mucronatus were most strongly attracted to an intermediate dose of 3R-ketol, while adults of X. colonus were similarly attracted to a broad range of 3R-Ketol doses. The presence of methylbutanol increased attractiveness for X. colonus, whose males produce that compound as a pheromone component, but not for N. m. mucronatus, whose males do not. The lamiine Graphisurus despectus (LeConte) was most attracted to intermediate doses of fuscumol acetate. Two species responded very differently to sulcatol with Astylopsis macula (Say) most attracted to an intermediate dose and Leptostylus transversus (Gyllenhal) most strongly attracted to the highest doses. Taken together, these findings suggest that trap lure release rate can greatly influence the efficiency of trapping for cerambycid beetles. Therefore, care must be taken in choosing appropriate release rates for trap lures, especially when combining pheromone components to attract cerambycids.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Entomology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Grommes-Yeager, Anna C

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hanks, Lawrence M
• Suarez, Andrew V
• Ngumbi, Esther N

• cerambycid
• semiochemical
• IPM
• beetle

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Anna Grommes-Yeager

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115789

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115789