Field catches of Oxythyrea cinctella using visual and olfactory cues

Abstract

Diurnal flower‐visiting scarabs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) use visual and olfactory stimuli when locating possible feeding sites. In field trapping experiments in Turkey, testing different colours and floral volatile compounds, a combination of fluorescent yellow colour and a blend of 2‐phenylethanol and (±)‐lavandulol leads to the highest number of Oxythyrea cinctella (Schaum) being caught. Trap catches of O. cinctella with respect to the individually presented visual or olfactory cues are significantly lower than to a combination of the two. The closely‐related O. funesta, a sibling species in the Oxythyrea genus, is also known to be caught by the same colour‐volatile combination. When applied together in a high capture‐capacity trap, the fluorescent yellow colour and the binary floral odour blend may provide a suitable means of monitoring population changes of O. cinctella, which indicates their potential use in agriculture.

Isolation and identification of floral attractants from a nectar plant for the dried bean beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae)

“…Other floral cues may certainly be important to elicit this behaviour, including the colour of inflorescences. Attraction of flower‐visiting insects can be enhanced by the combination of odour and colour stimuli, whereas in other cases, colour does not synergize the effect of odour . Little is known about colour preference in A. obtectus ; Zachariae lists nectar plants that all appear white or light yellow to the human eye, and traps coloured in white or yellow were found to be more attractive than other colours.…”

Environmentally vulnerable noble chafers exhibit unusual pheromone-mediated behaviour

“…Several diurnal members of the Cetoniinae respond to colour [ 37 ], but not to the circularly polarizing exocuticle of conspecifics [ 38 ]. In fact, the appropriate trap colour can greatly enhance activity of the volatile lure in several scarab species [ 37 , 39 ], which might also be the case in G . nobilis .…”

Allelochemicals in Plant–Insect Interactions

“…74 For example, cinnamyl alcohol and (E)-anethole, common flower scent components, attract Epicometis hirta (Scarabaeidae) (which damages the reproductive parts of flowers of several orchard trees and many ornamental bushes 75 ) and enhance the attractiveness of light blue color. 77,78 Constituents of plant volatiles change according to plant age and developmental stage, sometimes causing changes in the behavioral responses of the insects to the host plants. and Papaver spp., fruit trees such as Vitis spp., Prunus spp., Citrus spp., Malus spp., and various cereals.…”