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Title: Field testing of Anoplophora glabripennis male-produced pheromone and plant volatiles

Author
item NEHME, MAYA - PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV
item KEENA, MELODY - USDA, FOREST SERVICE
item Zhang, Aijun
item BAKER, TOMAS - PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV
item XU, ZHICHUN - BEIJING FORESTRY
item HOOVER, KELLI - PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/17/2009
Publication Date: 1/15/2010
Citation: Nehme, M., Keena, M., Zhang, A., Baker, T., Xu, Z., Hoover, K. 2010. Field testing of Anoplophora glabripennis male-produced pheromone and plant volatiles. Environmental Entomology. 39(1):169-176.

Interpretive Summary: The Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) is an invasive species that attacks and eventually kills a wide variety of healthy hardwood trees. It is a recent invader of the United States and Europe from Asia and threatens to cause billions of dollars in losses to forestry and the nursery industry. To date, detection of ALB infestation relies on visual inspection, which is labor intensive and inefficient. A more effective tool is needed to detect and monitor this insect pest. We set up experiments to determine whether chemical compounds produced by male insects, along with chemical compounds produced by plants, would attract insects into lures and trap them. Our results indicated that the male-produced compound is a promising lure for ALB attraction when it was combined with some plant compounds. This efficient trap design and lure combination can be used by regulatory agencies, such as APHIS and Forest Service, to detect ALB infestation, monitor ALB population, and assure timely management measures of this invasive species in the field.

Technical Abstract: Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), commonly known as the Asian longhorned beetle, is a wood-boring invasive species introduced from Asia to North America and Europe in solid wood packing material. Efficient monitoring traps are needed to assess population density and dispersal in the field and to detect new introductions at ports of entry. For this purpose, we conducted field trapping experiments in China in the summers of 2007 and 2008. In 2007, we used Intercept panel traps hung on poplar trees. In 2008, we used Intercept panel traps hung on poplar trees, screen sleeve traps wrapped around poplar trunks, as well as Intercept panel traps hung on bamboo polls 20 m away from host trees. Traps were baited with the A. glabripennis male-produced pheromone alone or in different combinations with plant volatiles. Traps baited with the male-produced pheromone alone caught significantly more females than control traps in both years. The addition of a mixture of (-)-linalool, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, linalool oxide, trans-caryophyllene and trans-pinocarveol to the pheromone significantly increased trap catches of females, 85% of which were virgin. Screen sleeve traps baited with a combination of (-)-linalool and the pheromone caught the highest number of beetles overall in 2008, while traps placed on bamboo polls caught the lowest number. While the logistics for the most effective implementation of a trapping program using a mixture of the pheromone and plant volatiles require additional studies, these results indicate that this pheromone has considerable promise as a monitoring tool for A. glabripennis in the field.