Identification of two additional behaviorally active gland constituents of female Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera Crambidae)

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DOI:
| Published | English
Authors:
Da Silva, Maycon R. ; Cortes, Angela M.P. ; Svensson, Glenn P. ; Löfstedt, Christer ; Lima, Eraldo R. ; Zarbin, Paulo H.G. , et al.
Department:
Functional zoology
Pheromone Group
Project:
Evolutionary mechanisms of pheromone divergence in Lepidoptera
Research Group:
Pheromone Group
Abstract:

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius), is the major pest insect attacking sugarcane crops in Brazil. Population control by insecticide treatment is not efficient due to simultaneous presence of all developmental stages of the insect throughout the year, and alternative control methods are needed. Two female-produced sex pheromone components, (Z,E)-hexadeca-9,11-dienal and (Z)- hexadec-11-enal, have previously been reported to elicit antennal activity and behavioral response of males in flight tunnel experiments. However, the attractiveness of these compounds in field tests has been very low. In this study, two additional female-produced compounds in D. saccharalis eliciting consistent antennal response in males were identified as (Z)-hexadec-9-enal and hexadecanal. In flight tunnel assays, the behavioral response to a quaternary blend was significantly higher when compared with the previously identified binary blend. Subtracting (Z)-hexadec-9-enal or hexadecanal from the full blend did not reduce attraction, indicating redundancy in the communication channel. We conclude that additional compounds are part of the sex pheromone of D. saccharalis, which may improve the efficiency of trap lures for monitoring of this pest.

Keywords:
Bioassay ; Electrophysiology ; Sex pheromone ; Sugarcane pest ; Zoology ; Ecology (including Biodiversity Conservation) ; Biological Sciences
ISSN:
0103-5053
LUP-ID:
733486e1-2cbf-4fd1-9366-2bfa95567957 | Link: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/733486e1-2cbf-4fd1-9366-2bfa95567957 | Statistics

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