Host plant associations and chemical ecology of Cerambycidae

Invasive species are a major threat to forest ecosystems, threatening native biodiversity, forest health, altering nutrient cycles, and deteriorating water and soil qualities. In the United States alone, economic losses are estimated to be around $120 billion, both from impact of invasive species to the environment and in efforts to prevent and respond to them. With increasing rates of biological invasions posing a major threat to forests in the United States and worldwide, prevention of introduction of exotic species is of high importance. A number of longhorned beetle species (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are considered major pests worldwide. Longhorned beetles include some of the most damaging pests of woody plants and invasive species pose a serious threat to North American forests. The beetle family of Cerambycidae is a diverse group whose larvae feed primarily in the woody parts of trees, and many species are important pests in their native regions, and when introduced into new regions. Effective detection and survey programs are increasingly important as the rate of introduction of exotic species rises with the continued growth of international trade. Semiochemicals, particularly volatile pheromones, are an effective way to attract a number of cerambycid beetles to traps. The focus of my dissertation research was to evaluate current trapping methods and potential ways of optimizing these methods. I compiled a comprehensive list of larval hosts for North American cerambycid species based on rearing records and larval gallery descriptions to gain a better understanding of potential hosts of different species of cerambycids. I present data confirming some of the pheromone components present in two cerambycine species do not act as attractants. I demonstrate that beetles' attraction to traps may be enhanced by increasing the release rates of synthesized pheromones. I show that cerambycid species varied as to whether attraction to pheromones is enhanced or inhibited by volatiles released from larval hosts. I describe a field experiment which tested the extent to which fermenting bait composed of crushed fruit, sugars, yeast, and wood chips enhanced attraction of beetles to a blend of synthesized cerambycid pheromones, and how trap catch was influenced by the vertical position of traps within forests. Finally, I describe a morphological survey of cerambycine species using scanning electron microscopy which showed that for all 22 species, males had pores in the prothorax, absent in females, which in other cerambycids are associated with glands that produce pheromones. This finding is further evidence that use of volatile sex pheromones is common in the Cerambycidae.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Entomology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Wong, Joseph Chung Huen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hanks, Lawrence M.
• Suarez, Andrew V.
• Allan, Brian F.
• Ginzel, Matthew D.

• Longhorned beetles
• Volatiles

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Joseph Wong

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/93039

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/93039