Development of a synthetic plant volatile‐based attracticide for female noctuid moths. I. Potential sources of volatiles attractive to Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

This paper is the first of a series which will describe the development of a synthetic plant volatile-based attracticide for noctuid moths. It discusses potential sources of volatiles attractive to the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), and an approach to the combination of these volatiles in synthetic blends. We screened a number of known host and non-host (for larval development) plants for attractiveness to unmated male and female moths of this species, using a two-choice olfactometer system. Out of 38 plants tested, 33 were significantly attractive to both sexes. There was a strong correlation between attractiveness of plants to males and females. The Australian natives, Angophora floribunda and several Eucalyptus species were the most attractive plants. These plants have not been recorded either as larval or oviposition hosts of Helicoverpa spp., suggesting that attraction in the olfactometer might have been as nectar foraging rather than as oviposition sources. To identify potential compounds that might be useful in developing moth attractants, especially for females, collections of volatiles were made from plants that were attractive to moths in the olfactometer. Green leaf volatiles, floral volatiles, aromatic compounds, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were found. We propose an approach to developing synthetic attractants, here termed 'super-blending', in which compounds from all these classes, which are in common between attractive plants, might be combined in blends which do not mimic any particular attractive plant.

Translating olfactomes into attractants: shared volatiles provide attractive bridges for polyphagy in fruit flies

“…In a study on Helicoverpa armigera , a similar idea was tested although without reference to olfactomics: a range of attractive flowering plant species were scrutinised on common volatiles, and a blend of these was attractive (Del Socorro et al . ).…”

“…The fact that D. melanogaster's published olfactome (M€ unch & Galizia 2016) converged on a roughly similar set of volatiles, which were also attractive, underlines the significance of shared volatiles. In a study on Helicoverpa armigera, a similar idea was tested although without reference to olfactomics: a range of attractive flowering plant species were scrutinised on common volatiles, and a blend of these was attractive (Del Socorro et al 2010).…”

Spotting the invaders: A monitoring system based on plant volatiles to forecast apple fruit moth attacks in apple orchards

“…In the case of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.), another lepidopteran pest of apple, volatile blends based on a compound identified from pear were reported as female attractants and are being used to commercially monitor pest populations in Northern American apple orchards (Knight, Light, & Trimble 2011). Among noctuid moths, a field lure based on host and non-host volatiles was recently developed and marketed for Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Del Socorro, Gregg, Alter, & Moore 2010). Although much research is conducted trying to find new ways to make such compounds more useful in pest management programs, it is regrettable that only a handful of cases have been successful at a commercial level (Szendrei & Rodriguez-Saona 2010).…”

Increased plant volatile production affects oviposition, but not larval development, in the moth Helicoverpa armigera

“…Being a polyphagous insect, H. armigera is capable of detoxifying a broad spectrum of volatile and non-volatile plant metabolic compounds. As this moth shows a strong preference for the flowering stages of its hosts (Zalucki et al, 1986), we would predict a low fitness cost associated with detoxification of compounds associated with floral volatiles, particularly linalool, which is a common volatile in moth-pollinated flowers and in the host species of H. armigera (Del Socorro et al, 2010;Raguso et al, 2003). The decreased response to plants with high linalool emissions may exist because of constraints to the evolution of insect behavioural responses, such as neurological constraints to sensory mechanisms (Bernays, 2001;Egan and Funk, 2006;Janz, 2003).…”