title: Is dimethyldecanal a common aggregation pheromone of Tribolium flour beetles?
abstract: Flour beetles are cosmopolitan and common pests in grain stores and flour mills. Their ability to exploit a wide variety of stored products has contributed to their status as major pests of stored food. Although it was previously reported that the same aggregation pheromone, 4,8-dimethyldecanal (DMD), is shared by three flour beetles species (Tribolium castaneum, T. confusum, and T. freemani), the volatiles released by the other Tribolium species associated with stored products have not yet been examined. In the present study, the volatiles produced by males and females of eight Tribolium species were examined by solid phase microextraction (SPME). SPME samples were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Experiments were conducted to identify volatiles emitted by the adults of different Tribolium species and to determine whether DMD is a common aggregation pheromone. We observed that DMD is not a common pheromone of the eight species tested, but is common to T. castaneum, T. confusum, T. freemani, and T. madens. Two other volatiles were detected, 1-pentadecene, which is shown here to be a common semiochemical of flour beetles, and 1,6-pentadecadiene, which was detected in five species (T. audax, T. brevicornis, T. destructor, T. freemani, and T. madens).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pure and Applied Zoology, Gembloux Agricultural University, Belgium. arnaud.l@fsagx.ac.be
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arnaud
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lognay
authors.forename: Marjolaine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verscheure
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leenaers
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaspar
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haubruge
mesh_terms: D000447:Aldehydes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D009949:Orientation; D010675:Pheromones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014231:Tribolium / Q000502:physiology*; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: C466020:4,8-dimethyldecanal; D000447:Aldehydes; D010675:Pheromones