Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2011) 140, 153-162

Dong H. Cha, Gregory M. Loeb, Charles E. Linn Jr. and Wendell L. Roelofs (2011)
Electrophysiological and behavioral identification of a volatile blend involved in host location of female strawberry sap beetle, Stelidota geminata
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 140 (2), 153-162
Abstract: The strawberry sap beetle (SSB), Stelidota geminata (Say) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is a serious direct pest of strawberries in the northeastern USA. To date, however, no food or pheromone-based attractants for SSB have been identified. A combination of solid-phase microextraction, adsorbent sampling, gas chromatography coupled with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify volatile compounds from strawberry fruit acting as behavioral attractants for female SSB. Consistent EAD activity was obtained for 16 ester compounds. In Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, the blend of these 16 compounds mixed at a ratio observed from strawberry headspace was significantly more attractive to adult female SSB than a control. Female SSB showed no difference in response levels between the 16-component blend and a strawberry volatile adsorbent extract. Our data indicate that the combination of the ethyl acetate with some or all of the remaining 15 compounds is necessary for this ester blend to be attractive to female SSB. Previously identified host volatiles found for other species of sap beetles included mostly alcohols associated with over-ripe fruit rather than the esters identified from ripe strawberries for SSB. A highly attractive synthetic food odor will be useful for developing new management options for SSB.
(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): Dong H. Cha

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.
	Stelidota geminata	Strawberry (Fragaria)	U.S.A. (NE)