A potential pheromone for the mass trapping of Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)
Abstract
Observations of wild and colony-reared small hive beetle populations indicate that the beetles form aggregations of many individuals of both sexes. Volatile collections performed on males and females have identified a potential male-produced pheromone comprised of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, nonanal, and decanal. Flight tunnel and laboratory trapping assays were conducted using a synthetic pheromone blend (i.e., 6-methyl-5-hepten2-one, nonanal, and decanal) and a blend of fruit volatiles (i.e., ethanol, ethyl butyrate, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, and acetaldehyde). Results showed that the synthetic pheromone blend along with a fruit-derived attractant captured significantly more beetles than the control. The identification of a potential pheromone is an important step in the search to provide effective control and monitoring of the small hive beetle.
Resumen
Las observaciones de poblaciones de pequeños escarabajos de la colmena silvestre criados en colonias indican que los escarabajos forman agregaciones de muchos individuos de ambos sexos. Recolecciones volátiles realizadas sobre los machos y hembras han identificado una posible feromona producida por machos compuesta por 6-metil-5-hepten-2-ona, nonanal y decanal. Los ensayos de captura en laboratorio y en el túnel de vuelo se realizaron utilizando una mezcla de feromonas sintéticas (es decir, 6-metil-5-hepten-2-ona, nonanal y decanal) y de volátiles de frutas (etanol, butirato de etilo, ácido acético, acetato de etilo y acetaldehído). Los resultados mostraron que la mezcla de feromonas sintéticas junto con un atrayente derivado de frutas capturó significativamente más escarabajos que el control. La identificación de una feromona potencial es un paso importante en la búsqueda para proporcionar un control y seguimiento efectivos del pequeño escarabajo de la colmena.
Key Words: small hive beetle, Apis mellifera; chemical ecology; semiochemicals; aggregation
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