Identification and Field Evaluation of Attractants for the Cranberry Weevil, Anthonomus musculus Say

Abstract

Studies were conducted to develop an attractant for the cranberry weevil, Anthonomus musculus, a pest of blueberry and cranberry flower buds and flowers in the northeastern United States. In previous studies, we showed that cinnamyl alcohol, the most abundant blueberry floral volatile, and the green leaf volatiles (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and hexyl acetate, emitted from both flowers and flower buds, elicit strong antennal responses from A. musculus. Here, we found that cinnamyl alcohol did not increase capture of A. musculus adults on yellow sticky traps compared with unbaited controls; however, weevils were highly attracted to traps baited with the Anthonomus eugenii Cano aggregation pheromone, indicating that these congeners share common pheromone components. To identify the A. musculus aggregation pheromone, headspace volatiles were collected from adults feeding on blueberry or cranberry flower buds and analyzed by gas chromatographymass spectrometry. Three male-specific compounds were identified: (Z)-2-(3,3-dimethyl-cyclohexylidene) ethanol (Z grandlure II); (Z)-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure III); and (E)-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure IV). A fourth component, (E)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol (geraniol), was emitted in similar quantities by males and females. The emission rates of these volatiles were about 2.8, 1.8, 1.3, and 0.9 ng/adult/d, respectively. Field experiments in highbush blueberry (New Jersey) and cranberry (Massachusetts) examined the attraction of A. musculus to traps baited with the male-produced compounds and geraniol presented alone and combined with (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and hexyl acetate, and to traps baited with the pheromones of A. eugenii and A. grandis. In both states and crops, traps baited with the A. musculus maleproduced compounds attracted the highest number of adults. Addition of the green leaf volatiles did not affect A. musculus attraction to its pheromone but skewed the sex ratio of the captured adults towards females. Although the role of plant volatiles in host-plant location by A. musculus is still unclear, our studies provide the first identification of the primary A. musculus aggregation pheromone components that can be used to monitor this pest in blueberry and cranberry pest management programs.

A host‐plant‐derived volatile blend to attract the apple blossom weevil Anthonomus pomorum – the essential volatiles include a repellent constituent

“…Trap captures and persistence of the attractant effect were greatly enhanced by the addition of host‐plant odour components to aggregation‐pheromone‐baited traps . Likewise, cranberry weevils A. musculus Say were attracted to odours from blueberry flowers Vaccinium corymbosum L., although components of the host‐plant odour failed to increase attraction to aggregation pheromones of the weevil in the field . In another weevil of the curculionid family, the plum curculio Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst, several host‐plant volatiles were evaluated to attract weevils colonising apple trees, and benzaldehyde was found to be the only volatile to synergistically enhance weevil response to the aggregation pheromone .…”

Semiochemical attractants for the beech leaf‐mining weevil,Orchestes fagi

“…Compounds 3 and DMNT matched retention times and mass spectral characteristics of authentic materials (Mayo et al., ). Compound 3 also bears a curious structural resemblance to published cyclohexylidene curculionid terpenoid pheromones (Bartelt, ; Szendrei et al., ). Sapwood emitted α‐cubebene, a series of isomeric farnesenes, high levels of ( E ) ‐ 4,8‐dimethyl‐1,3,7‐nonatriene (DMNT), and trace levels of the dimethylcyclohexane homoterpene 3 (Figure ).…”

Fine‐tuning the composition of the cranberry weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) aggregation pheromone

“…A pheromone‐based trapping system could provide an economic, easy‐to‐use alternative. The A. musculus aggregation pheromone includes ( Z )‐2‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) ethanol ( Z grandlure II), ( Z )‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure III), ( E )‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure IV) and ( E )‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2,6‐octadien‐1‐ol (geraniol) (Szendrei, Averill, Alborn, & Rodriguez‐Saona, 2011). In contrast, the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano, aggregation pheromone contains ( E )‐2‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) ethanol ( E grandlure II) and ( E )‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2,6‐octadienoic acid (geranic acid) plus the above A. musculus pheromone components (Eller et al, 1994).…”

“…In contrast, the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano, aggregation pheromone contains ( E )‐2‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) ethanol ( E grandlure II) and ( E )‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2,6‐octadienoic acid (geranic acid) plus the above A. musculus pheromone components (Eller et al, 1994). Despite differences in pheromone blend composition between these species, field studies reported that A. musculus adults are captured as bycatch on traps baited with the A. eugenii aggregation pheromone (Ingerson‐Mahar, Eichinger, & Holmstrom, 2015; Szendrei et al, 2011). Szendrei et al (2011) caught A. musculus adults on yellow sticky cards baited with the A. eugenii pheromone in highbush blueberry fields in New Jersey.…”