Journal of Chemical Ecology (1995) 21, 1549-1570

Rebecca H. Hallett, Alice L. Perez, Gerhard Gries, Regine Gries, Harold D. Pierce Jr., Junming Yue, A. Cameron Oehlschlager, Lilliana M. Gonzalez and John H. Borden (1995)
Aggregation pheromone of coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros (L.) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Journal of Chemical Ecology 21 (10), 1549-1570
Abstract: Male coconut rhinoceros beetles, Oryctes rhinoceros (L.), produce three sex-specific compounds, ethyl 4-methyloctanoate, ethyl 4-methylheptanoate, and 4-methyloctanoic acid, the first of which is an aggregation pheromone. Synthesis of these compounds involving conjugate addition of organocuprates to ethyl acrylate is reported. In field trapping experiments, (4S)-ethyl 4-methyloctanoate and the racemic mixture were equally attractive and 10 times more effective in attracting beetles than ethyl chrysanthemumate, a previously recommended attractant. Ethyl 4-methylheptanoate was as attractive as ethyl chrysanthemumate and more attractive than 4-methyloctanoic acid, but further studies are required before it can be classed as an aggregation pheromone. Compared to ethyl 4-methyloctanoate alone, combinations of the three male-produced compounds did not increase attraction, whereas addition of freshly rotting oil palm fruit bunches to pheromone-baited traps significantly enhanced attraction. With increasing dose, captures of O. rhinoceros increased, but doses of 6, 9, and 18 mg/day were competitive with 30 mg/day lures. Newly designed vane traps were more effective in capturing beetles than were barrier or pitfall traps. Results of this study indicate that there is potential for using ethyl 4-methyloctanoate in operational programs to control O. rhinoceros in oil palm plantations.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Rebecca H. Hallett, Gerhard Gries, Gerhard Gries, John H. Borden

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
pheromones/attractants/traps

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Oryctes rhinoceros