Pheromone mating disruption of the pine sawfly <i>Neodiprion sertifer</i> : is the size of the treated area important?

Abstract:
Few attempts to control forest insects by means of pheromone mating disruption have

been reported. The first such experiments with the European pine sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer

(Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), resulted in nearly complete trap catch reduction, but no effects on

population density or sex ratio were noted. Unmated females lay eggs, which develop into males

only. Therefore, if mating disruption would be successful, a more male-biased sex ratio is

expected the next generation. One possible explanation for the early results is that mated females

disperse into the treated area, and thus obscure the effects of the treatment. In order to reduce the

effect of such immigrating females, the treated area was increased in the experiment described

here from the earlier used 0.5 – 4 ha to 25 ha. The acetate of erythro-3,7-dimethyl-2-

pentadecanol was used for disruption and released from dispensers every 10 m. The influence on

male orientation was monitored by pheromone traps, baited with the acetate of (2S,3S,7S)-3,7-

dimethyl-2-pentadeanol and placed at 100 m interval along two perpendicular, 1500 m lines

intersecting the treated area. The trap catch reduction was near 100% during the first month, but

then declined to around 90% during the second month. Mating frequencies were checked by

comparing the sex ratio of the next generation from within and outside the treatment area. No

effect of the treatment on the sex ratio was detected, and the frequency of mated females could be

assumed to be independent of treatment. Alternative hypotheses to explain the failure of

pheromone mating disruption in N. sertifer are discussed.