Aggregation pheromone of Pityokteines elegans
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| Authors: | MaciasSamano, JE; Borden, JH; Pierce, HD; Gries, R; Gries, G |
| Year: | 1997 |
| Journal: | J. Chem. Ecol. 23: 1333-1347 Article Link (DOI) |
| Title: | Aggregation pheromone of Pityokteines elegans |
| Abstract: | In laboratory bioassay experiments, the beetles Pityokteines elegans were attracted to volatiles captured from bolts of grand fir, Abies grandis, colonized by P. elegans males. Male-specific volatiles detected by coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analysis and by CC-mass spectrometry employing a chiral column were: (S)-(-)-ipsenol, (+)- and (-)-ipsdienol, and ipsenone. Field experiments demonstrated that 1:1 combinations of (-)-ipsenol and (+/-)-ipsdienol strongly attracted insects of both sexes to multiple-funnel traps. No beetles were attracted to any of these compounds alone, and both enantiomers of ipsdienol were required with (-)-ipsenol to induce attraction. Ipsenol and ipsdienol are now reported as pheromones of five Pityokteines species. Specificity of semiochemical-based communication between sympatric P. elegans and P. minutus appears to be based on host preference and on the composition and chirality of the pheromone blend. |
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