Journal of Chemical Ecology (1998) 24, 425-437

Neelakanthi E. Gunawardena, Friedrich Kern, Edelgard Janssen, Chandana Meegoda, Doris Schäfer, Otto Vostrowsky and Hans Jürgen Bestmann (1998)
Host attractants for red weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus: Identification, electrophysiological activity, and laboratory bioassay
Journal of Chemical Ecology 24 (3), 425-437
Abstract: A steam distillate from the freshly cut young bark of coconut palm Cocos nucifera was analyzed by gas chromatography, combined gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC-MS to detect host attractants for the curculionid weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, one of the major coconut pests in Sri Lanka. A twin FID peak consisting of a minor and a major component was shown to possess electrophysiological (EAG) activity. The minor peak was identified as gamma-nonanoic lactone 1, while the major peak was identified as 4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyrene 2. In an EAG assay the synthetic racemic nonanoic lactone 1 did not elicit a considerable response in the antenna of R. ferrugineus, whereas the laboratory synthesized 2 showed activity. In a laboratory bioassay using a Y-type olfactometer, synthetic 1 and 2 elicited moderate attractant properties to R. ferrugineus, whereas a 1:1 mixture of the compounds showed increased attraction over that of the individual compounds.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Rhynchophorus ferrugineus	Coconut (Cocos nucifera)	Sri Lanka