title: Activity of male pheromone of Melanesian rhinoceros beetle Scapanes australis.
abstract: Laboratory and field investigations were carried out to investigate the nature and role of the male pheromone emitted by the Dynast beetle Scapanes australis and to develop a mass trapping technique against this major coconut pest in Papua New Guinea. We report the biological data obtained from natural and synthetic pheromone, previously described as an 84:12:4 (w/w) mixture of 2-butanol (1), 3-hydoxy-2-butanone (2), and 2,3-butanediol (3). EAG recordings from natural and synthetic pheromone and a pitfall olfactometer were poorly informative. In contrast, extensive field trapping trials with various synthetic pheromone mixtures and doses showed that 1 and 2 (formulated in polyethylene sachets in 90:5 v/v ratio) were necessary and sufficient for optimum long-range attraction. Beetles were captured in traps baited with racemic 1 plus 2, with or without a stereoisomer mixture of 3 (2.5- to 2500-mg/day doses). Plant pieces, either sugarcane or coconut, enhanced captures by the synthetic pheromone, which was active alone. Traps with the pheromone caught both sexes in a 3:2 female-male ratio. A pheromone-based mass trapping led to the capture of 2173 beetles in 14 traps surrounding 40 ha of a cocoa-coconut plantation. The captures followed a log-linear decrease during the 125-week trapping program. The role of the male pheromone and its potential for crop protection are discussed.
authors.affiliation: INRA, Unité de Phytopharmacie et Médiateurs Chimiques, Centre de Versailles, France. rochatd@versailles.inra.fr
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rochat
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.forename: Titus
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kakul
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beaudoin-Ollivier
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prior
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Renou
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Malosse
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stathers
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Embupa
authors.forename: Samson
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laup
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000440:Butanols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002074:Butanones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002072:Butylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003059:Cocos; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007300:Insect Control; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012903:Smell
chemical_list: D000440:Butanols; D002074:Butanones; D002072:Butylene Glycols; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012724:Sex Attractants; C043958:2-butanol; C026978:2,3-butylene glycol