Identification of Geraniol as the Active Component in the Nassanoff Pheromone of the Honey Bee

Boch, R.; Shearer, D. A.

doi:10.1038/194704b0

Cited by 90 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Geraniol is a monoterpenoid alcohol commonly emitted from plants, particularly flowers (Schiestl, 2010), that is induced by herbivore feeding (Han and Chen, 2002), and with known activity on insects, including mosquitoes (e.g., Qualls and Xue 2009) and bees (e.g., Williams et al, 1981). Besides Anthonomus spp., it is a component of the honey bee pheromone (Boch, 1962;Pickett et al, 1980). Geraniol is a Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2011

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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.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2011

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“…In the later study by Erber et al (1993), bees exhibited forward antennal movements to three out of four odorants, but all tested odorants had a strong innate value for bees. Bees oriented their antennae toward geraniol and citral, two main components of the bees' aggregation pheromone (Pickett et al 1980;Boch 1962a) and to caprylic acid (also called octanoic acid), the major royal jelly volatile (Boch et al 1979;Nazzi et al 2009). In contrast, they did not respond to isopentyl acetate (also known as iso-amyl acetate), the major component of the alarm pheromone (Boch 1962b).…”

Section: Odor Response Before Conditioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Appetitive but not aversive olfactory conditioning modifies antennal movements in honeybees

2015

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In honeybees, two olfactory conditioning protocols allow the study of appetitive and aversive Pavlovian associations. Appetitive conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER) involves associating an odor, the conditioned stimulus (CS) with a sucrose solution, the unconditioned stimulus (US). Conversely, aversive conditioning of the sting extension response (SER) involves associating the odor CS with an electric or thermal shock US. Each protocol is based on the measure of a different behavioral response (proboscis versus sting) and both only provide binary responses (extension or not of the proboscis or sting). These limitations render the measure of the acquired valence of an odor CS difficult without testing the animals in a freely moving situation. Here, we studied the effects of both olfactory conditioning protocols on the movements of the antennae, which are crucial sensory organs for bees. As bees' antennae are highly mobile, we asked whether their movements in response to an odorant change following appetitive or aversive conditioning and if so, do odor-evoked antennal movements contain information about the acquired valence of the CS? We implemented a tracking system for harnessed bees' antennal movements based on a motion capture principle at a high frequency rate. We observed that differential appetitive conditioning had a strong effect on antennal movements. Bees responded to the reinforced odorant with a marked forward motion of the antennae and a strong velocity increase. Conversely, differential aversive conditioning had no associative effect on antennal movements. Rather than revealing the acquired valence of an odorant, antennal movements may represent a novel conditioned response taking place during appetitive conditioning and may provide a possible advantage to bees when foraging in natural situations.

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“…No pheromones have been described for scarab species of the subfamily Cetoniinae, but other scarab species exhibit considerable diversity in pheromone semiochemistry, and several small aromatic compounds have been identified as pheromone components (e.g., phenol, anisole, and methyl benzoate) (reviewed in Leal 1998). On the other hand, some scarab attractants have been found in flowers (Knudsen et al 2006), and the use of plant volatiles, including PAA (Honda 1980;Bellas and Hölldobler 1985), as attractants with pheromones has been observed in several insects (Boch and Shearer 1962;Baker 1989;Eller et al 1994;Hassanali et al 2005;Bartelt et al 2009;Kim et al 2009). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pheromone-based Mating and Aggregation in the Sorghum Chafer, Pachnoda interrupta

et al. 2010

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Adults of the sorghum chafer, Pachnoda interrupta Olivier (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), form aggregations during the mating period in July, but also in October. The beetles aggregate on food sources, e.g., Acacia spp. trees or sorghum with ripe seeds, to feed and mate. During the mating season, field trapping experiments with live beetles as bait demonstrated attraction of males to unmated females, but not to mated females or males, indicating the presence of a female-emitted sex pheromone. Unmated females combined with banana (food source) attracted significantly more males and females than did unmated females alone. Other combinations of beetles with banana were not more attractive than banana alone. Thus, aggregation behavior appears to be guided by a combination of pheromone and host volatiles. Females and males were extracted with hexane during the mating period, and the extracts were compared by using GC-MS. In a field trapping experiment, 19 compounds found only in females were tested, both singly and in a mixture. Traps baited with one of the female-associated compounds, phenylacetaldehyde, caught significantly more beetles than any other treatment. However, the sex ratio of beetles caught in these traps did not differ from that of control traps and it is possible that other components may be involved in the sex pheromone signal. Furthermore, traps baited with a mixture of all 19 compounds attracted significantly fewer beetles than did phenylacetaldehyde alone.

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Identification of Geraniol as the Active Component in the Nassanoff Pheromone of the Honey Bee

Cited by 90 publications

References 4 publications

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

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

Appetitive but not aversive olfactory conditioning modifies antennal movements in honeybees

Pheromone-based Mating and Aggregation in the Sorghum Chafer, Pachnoda interrupta

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