Journal of Chemical Ecology (2009) 35, 706-714

Béla Molnár, Zsolt Kárpáti, Gábor Szöcs and David R. Hall (2009)
Identification of female-produced sex pheromone of the honey locust gall midge, Dasineura gleditchiae
Journal of Chemical Ecology 35 (6), 706-714
Abstract: The honey locust gall midge, Dasineura gleditchiae Osten Sacken 1866 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is the main pest of ornamental varieties of the honey locust tree, Gleditsia triacanthos L., in North America, and is now becoming a pest of concern in Europe. Female midges were observed to emerge in the early morning with their ovipositor extended until they mated. Volatiles were collected from virgin females in a closed-loop stripping apparatus and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to electroantennographic (EAG) recording from the antenna of a male midge. A single EAG response was observed, which was assumed to be to the major component of the female sex pheromone. This was identified as (Z)-2-acetoxy-8-heptadecene by comparison of its mass spectrum and GC retention times on different columns with those of synthetic standards and by micro-analytical reactions. This compound was synthesized, and the individual enantiomers were produced by kinetic resolution with lipase from Candida antarctica. Analysis of the naturally-produced compound on a cyclodextrin GC column indicated it was the (R)-enantiomer. In EAG dose-response measurements, the (R)-enantiomer alone or in the racemic mixture evoked significant responses from the antennae of male D. gleditchiae, whereas the (S)-enantiomer did not. In field trapping tests, the (R)-enantiomer attracted male D. gleditchiae. The racemic compound was equally attractive, but the (S)-enantiomer was not attractive. Both the pure (R)-enantiomer or racemic (Z)-2-acetoxy-8-heptadecene, applied to red rubber septa in a dose range of 3-30 μg, constitute a strongly attractive bait in sticky traps for monitoring the flight of D. gleditchiae.
(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): Gábor Szöcs, David Robert Hall, Béla Péter Molnár, Zsolt Kárpáti

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.
	Dasineura gleditchiae	Honeylocust and relatives (Gleditsia)