title: Electroantennogram and behavioral responses of the imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, to an alarm pheromone component and its analogues.
abstract: A characteristic behavior in ants is to move rapidly to emission sources of alarm pheromones. The addition of ant alarm pheromones to bait is expected to enhance its attractiveness. To search for candidate compounds for bait enhancement in fire ant control, 13 related alkylpyrazine analogues in addition to synthetic alarm pheromone component were evaluated for electroantennogram (EAG) and behavioral activities in Solenopsis invicta. Most compounds elicited dose-dependent EAG and behavioral responses. There exists a correlation between the EAG and behavioral responses. Among the 14 tested alkylpyrazines, three compounds, 2-ethyl-3,6(5)-dimethyl pyrazine (1), 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (7), and 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine (12), elicited significant alarm responses at a dose range of 0.1-1000 ng. Further bait discovery bioassay with the three most active alkylpyrazines demonstrated that food bait accompanied by sample-treated filter paper disk attracted significantly more fire ant workers in the first 15 min period. EAG and behavioral bioassays with pure pheromone isomers accumulated by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography demonstrated that 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine was significantly more active than 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Yong-Yue
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Xiao-Lan
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D004562:Electrocardiography; D007300:Insect Control; D058865:Introduced Species; D010675:Pheromones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones
keywords: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethyl pyrazine; HPLC; Solenopsis invicta; alarm pheromone; alkylpyrazine analogues; electroantennogram (EAG)