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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385348
Research Project: Next-Generation Approaches for Monitoring and Management of Stored Product Insects

Location: Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research

Title: Orientation of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) adults to 4,8-dimethyldecanal, kairomone and botanical oils following ambient, low, or high temperature exposure

Author
item BANDARA, HERATH M.D. - Rajarata University Of Sri Lanka
item WIJAYARATNE, LEANGE K. - Rajarata University Of Sri Lanka
item EGODAWATTA, CHAMINDA - Rajarata University Of Sri Lanka
item Morrison, William - Rob

Submitted to: Journal of Stored Products Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/17/2021
Publication Date: 10/29/2021
Citation: Bandara, H.S., Wijayaratne, L.W., Egodawatta, C.P., Morrison Iii, W.R. 2021. Orientation of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) adults to 4,8-dimethyldecanal, kairomone and botanical oils following ambient, low, or high temperature exposure. Journal of Stored Products Research. 94:101893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101893.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2021.101893

Interpretive Summary: The red flour beetle (RFB) is a serious pest of stored food. Its aggregation pheromone alone or with food-baited traps shows generally low efficiency for capture of adults. Extreme temperature is an alternative pest management tactic but insect trapping response following priming with extreme high or low temperatures is poorly understood. In investigating the orientation of RFB adults to their aggregation pheromone and selected kairomones after exposure to high or low temperatures we found extreme temperature initially reduced the movement of RFB adults to their pheromones and food cues. Extended periods at ambient temperatures restored RFB movement to pheromone and kairomones after extreme temperature exposure. This study provides the insights on how the use of low or high temperature can be integrated with pest management monitoring programs.

Technical Abstract: The aggregation pheromone 4,8-dimethyldecanal (4,8 DMD) used alone or with kairomone-baited traps generally is used for T. castaneum but low efficiency is reported. Furthermore, insect orientation to pheromones and kairomones following low or high temperature exposure is not yet understood. This research evaluated the orientation of T. castaneum adults to 4,8 DMD and common kairomones following exposure to ambient, low or high temperatures. Fifty adults were introduced to the middle of rectangular glass chamber, and movement to the treatment or control was determined after 1 hr. In experiment 1, insects reared at 30ºC (e.g. high temperature) were used. Experiments 2 and 3 used insects exposed to 10ºC for 4 days (e.g. cold temperature) and 42ºC for 12 hrs (e.g. brief high temperature), respectively at 2–8 hrs following cold or heat exposure. The highest trapping occurred when 4,8 DMD was combined with neem oil whereas the lowest was in coconut oil alone. Neem oil alone demonstrated repellent action. Prior exposure to cold or heat initially reduced taxis of T. castaneum adults to traps. The attraction for adults exposed to cold and heat was restored after 6–8 hrs when traps contained pheromone + neem or coconut oil. This study marks the first to experimentally test how exposure to high or low temperatures, two key IPM tactics in the post-harvest supply chain, affects the behavioral response of an important stored product species to pheromone and kairomone baited traps.