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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311205
Title: Behavioral responses of the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stal) to traps baited with stereoisomeric mixtures of 10,11-Epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-OL

Author
item Leskey, Tracy
item Khrimian, Ashot
item Weber, Donald
item ALDRICH, JEFFREY - Retired ARS Employee
item Short, Brent
item LEE, DOO-HYUNG - Gachon University
item MORRISON, WILLIAM - Rutgers University

Submitted to: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/2015
Publication Date: 4/9/2015
Citation: Leskey, T.C., Khrimian, A., Weber, D.C., Aldrich, J.C., Short, B.D., Lee, D., Morrison, W.R. 2015. Behavioral responses of the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stal) to traps baited with stereoisomeric mixtures of 10,11-Epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-OL. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 41:418-429.

Interpretive Summary: The brown marmorated stink bug is an invasive insect in the United States that is capable of causing significant yield losses in fruits, vegetables and soybeans. The aggregation pheromone for this pest has been identified, and comes from a parent compound that can exist in 16 different forms. In this study, we tested purified and unpurified mixtures or single compounds of this parent compound (murgantiol) in its different forms, including components of the aggregation pheromone in agricultural landscapes. There were several key findings. We found that adult and nymphal brown marmorated stink bugs are attracted to forms of the compound that are not produced naturally by the stink bug, though not to the same extent as the naturally occurring aggregation pheromone components. The study also showed that crude, unrefined mixtures of the 16 forms of the compound did not interfere with attraction of brown marmorated stink bug to the bait in the field. As a result, producers of these chemicals may be able to save money by avoiding extensive refinement of the aggregation pheromone. Finally, both unnatural and naturally occurring forms of the compound resulted in greater numbers of stink bugs showing up when baits contained greater amounts of the compounds. This provides promise for the development of an attract-and-kill strategy to controlling the brown marmorated stink bug, whereby bugs are attracted to a confined area so they can be removed from harming agricultural crops. Finally, our results suggest that other compounds may also have a role to play in attracting the brown marmorated stink bug in addition to the naturally occurring forms of the aggregation pheromone.

Technical Abstract: The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is an invasive insect in the United States that is capable of inflicting significant yield losses for fruit, vegetable, and soybean growers. Recently, a male-produced aggregation pheromone of H. halys was identified as a 3.5:1 mixture of (3S,6S,7R,10S)-10,11-epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-ol and (3R,6S,7R,10S)-10,11-epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-ol, two stereoisomers of a natural sesquiterpene with a bisabolane skeleton, existing in 16 stereoisomeric forms. In this study, we assessed attraction to pheromonal and non-pheromonal stereoisomeric mixtures of 10,11-epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-ol, which are easier to synthesize than single isomers, and evaluated dose-dependent responses to attractive mixtures through field trials. Some treatments not containing the natural pheromone components were moderately active in field trapping, signifying that some stereoisomers of 10,11-epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-ol are sufficiently similar to the true pheromone in structure to trigger behavioral responses. Importantly, we found that mixtures of stereoisomers containing pheromone components were also highly attractive to H. halys even in the presence of multiple “unnatural” stereoisomers. Further, adult and nymphal captures were dose-dependent, regardless of whether the lure contained pheromonal or non-pheromonal components. Our findings of attraction to pheromonal and non-pheromonal stereoisomers and lack of inhibition from non-pheromonal stereoisomers of 10,11-epoxy-1-bisabolen-3-ol increase the flexibility of developing pheromone-based products for H. halys.