Environmental Entomology (2022) 51, 980-988

Emily Lemke, Willem G. van Herk, Kendal Singleton and Gerhard Gries (2022)
Seasonal and diel communication periods of sympatric pest Limonius click beetle species (Coleoptera: Elateridae) in western Canada
Environmental Entomology 51 (5), 980-988
Abstract: In western North America, sympatric Limonius click beetle species produce limoniic acid [(E)-4-ethyloct-4-enoic acid] as a sex pheromone component (L. canus (LeConte), L. californicus (Mannerheim)) or respond to it as a sex attractant (L. infuscatus (Motschulsky)). We tested the hypothesis that these three congeners maintain species-specificity of sexual communication through nonoverlapping seasonal occurrence and/or contrasting diel periodicity of sexual communication. Using capture times of beetles in pheromone-baited traps as a proxy for sexual communication periods, our data show that L. canus and L. californicus have seasonally distinct communication periods. Most L. canus males (>90%) were captured in April and most L. californicus males (>95%) were captured in May/June/July. As almost exclusively L. infuscatus males were captured in two separate 24-hr trapping studies, with data recordings every hour, it remains inconclusive whether the three Limonius congeners communicate at different times of the day. Males of L. infuscatus responded to pheromone lures only during daytime hours and during the warmest period each day. Captures of L. infuscatus overlapping with those of L. canus in April and those of L. californicus in May/June imply the presence of reproductive isolating mechanisms other than seasonal separation of sexual communication periods.
(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): Willem G. van Herk, Gerhard Gries

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.
	Limonius canus		Canada (west)
	Limonius californicus		Canada (west)
	Limonius infuscatus		Canada (west)