Response of garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola, to plant volatiles: from screening to application

Abstract

Field tests were performed on a golf course and in an apple orchard to screen synthetic plant volatiles with respect to their attractiveness for the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola L. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), and to investigate the possible application of plant volatiles for garden chafer control. The chemicals tested were green leaf volatiles (GLV), terpenoids, and phenylpropanoids. Funnel traps baited with the GLV ( Z )-3-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol ( Z )-3-hexenal, and hexanal captured more P. horticola than unbaited controls. Furthermore, traps baited with all tested floral terpenoids (i.e., geraniol, geranyl acetate, citronellol, linalool, and nerol) and phenylpropanoids (i.e., eugenol, anethol, isoeugenol, eugenyl acetate, and isoeugenyl acetate) captured more garden chafers than controls. Different dispenser types loaded once with a mixture of ( Z )-3-hexen-1-ol (50%), geraniol (11.5%), eugenol (27%), and 2-phenylethyl propionate (11.5%) attracted P. horticola over a whole flight season. A commercially available membrane dispenser had the best properties, combining the highest number of captured beetles with a low release rate. A simple modification of the trap design, i.e., a reduction of the funnel outlet diameter, significantly reduced the capture of beneficial nontarget insects (Apoidea), without influencing the number of captured garden chafers. A mass trapping experiment in the apple orchard revealed that the use of attractant traps significantly reduced the percentage of apples disfigured by feeding holes of adult garden chafers (control area: 18.9%, test area: 11.6%). The possible application of synthetic plant volatiles in mass trapping and monitoring approaches for garden chafer control is discussed.

A novel plant volatile attractant scheme to protect corn in China from the white-spotted flower chafer (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae)

“…Of these eight synthetic compounds, geraniol was only one of the Japanese beetle attractants to show activity. The importance of combinations of chemicals as scarab attractants throughout the world cannot be overlooked (Ladd et al 1981, Klein andEdwards 1989;Reed et al 1991;Leal 1998;Ruther 2004;Ruther and Mayer 2005). It is possible that combinations of attractants would also prove superior for WSFC.…”

“…Polyphagous species would be expected to feed opportunistically on available leaves, fruits or flowers, utilizing alcohols and other odors commonly found in many plant parts (Donaldson et al 1990;Lin and Phelan 1991;Phelan and Lin 1991;Reinecke et al 2002;Ruther and Hilker 2003;Ruther 2004;Ruther and Mayer 2005). Chen et al (2006) previously identified a wide selection of locally available fruit which could produce numerous volatiles attractive to WSFC.…”

“…Geraniol and anethole, often along with eugenol, are attractive to several Cetoniinae in Europe (Toth et al , 2004(Toth et al , 2009Vuts et al 2010a, b) the USA (Cherry et al 1996;Crocker et al 1999), and China (Li et al 1995;Chen et al 2001). In addition, Toth et al (1994), Tolasch et al (2003), Ruther (2004), and Ruther and Mayer (2005) and have reported leaf alcohols, plant volatiles and acetoin as attractants for Anomala spp., Phyllopertha horticola, Melolontha spp., and Amphimallon solstitiale in Europe.…”

Attraction ofAgrilus planipennis(Coleoptera: Buprestidae) to a Volatile Pheromone: Effects of Release Rate, Host Volatile, and Trap Placement

“…This differs from the synergistic increases in trap captures observed for the combination of host kairomones and the male-produced pheromone of the brown spruce longhorned beetle Tetropium fuscum (F.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) (Silk et al 2007, Sweeney et al 2010) and the Asian longhorned beetle Anaplophora glabripennis (Motschuslky) (Nehme et al 2010). (3Z)-Hexenol has been shown to synergize pheromone attraction and functions as a kairomone for a number of other beetle species (Dickens et al 1990;Ruther et al 2000Ruther et al , 2002Ruther and Mayer 2005;Reinecke et al 2006). The interaction of the (3Z)-lactone pheromone with host kairomones requires further investigation.…”

Behavioural responses of wheat stem sawflies to wheat volatiles

“…Trap cropping can take advantage of insect -plant interactions by augmented amounts of semiochemicals using a 'push -pull' or stimulo-deterrent strategy where repellent and attractive stimuli are deployed in tandem to manipulate the distribution of insect pests, reducing reliance on insecticides ( Miller & Cowles, 1990;Cook et al , 2007 ). Plant compounds can be used in traps alone ( Katsoyannos & Guerin, 1984;Martel et al , 2005a , b;Ruther & Mayer, 2005 ) or to synergize the effect of pheromones in trap catches ( Nakamuta et al , 1997;Reddy et al , 2004;Leskey et al , 2005 ) for mass trapping, monitoring or in attracticide strategies. Another potential use of semiochemicals in pest management is application of volatile compounds that act as repellents ( Pettersson et al , 1994;Borden et al , 1997 ).…”