Journal of Chemical Ecology (2006) 32, 2489-2499

Ashli E. Brown, Eric W. Riddick, Jeffrey R. Aldrich and William E. Holmes (2006)
Identification of (−)-ß-caryophyllene as a gender-specific terpene produced by the multicolored Asian lady beetle
Journal of Chemical Ecology 32 (11), 2489-2499
Abstract: This work reports the development and use of techniques for characterizing volatile chemicals emitted by the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), in an effort to identify the semiochemicals involved in establishment and persistence of overwintering beetle aggregations. Volatiles emitted from live beetles were detected by using whole-air sampling and solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Adsorbed volatiles were thermally desorbed and identified with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). By comparing the chromatograms of volatiles emitted from live male and female beetles, a sesquiterpene, (−)-ß-caryophyllene, was found only in the females. The identity of (−)-ß-caryophyllene was confirmed by using NIST Library searches, comparing retention times with those of known standards, and by using higher-resolution GC/MS above bench top capability. Although SPME trapping detected a wider array of compounds compared to whole-air sampling, the latter method is better suited for automation. Unattended automated sampling is required for the continuous measurement of targeted compounds under dynamically changing incubation conditions. These conditions, mimicking natural overwintering conditions, are essential to our long-term goal of using this technology to detect and identify the aggregation pheromone of H. axyridis.
(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): Eric W. Riddick, Jeffrey R. Aldrich

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
population dynamics/epizootiology
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Harmonia axyridis (predator)