title: Sex Pheromone of the Rare Click Beetle Betarmon bisbimaculatus.
abstract: The click beetle Betarmon bisbimaculatus (Fabricius, 1803) (Coleoptera: Elateridae) has a scattered distribution throughout a large area in Europe and the near East. Due to its scarcity, little is known about the ecology, biology, and development of this peculiar species. Here, we studied the composition of the female-released sex pheromone of B. bisbimaculatus. Neryl hexanoate, neryl octanoate, and neryl decanoate, in a ratio of approximately 3:1:6, were the only volatile compounds present in the extracts of pheromone glands. A synthetic mixture of all three compounds in the natural ratio was highly attractive to males in field traps. When the compounds were tested individually, only traps baited with neryl hexanoate were attractive, but they caught only a sixth of the males compared to the mixture. Based on the similarity of their sex pheromones, we propose that the tribe Pomachiliini with B. bisbimaculatus is closely related to the tribe Agriotini. This study shows the potential of sex pheromone studies for monitoring of rare and threatened insects as well as for elucidating phylogenetic relationships.
authors.affiliation: Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Zoologie, Tierökologie 220c, Garbenstraße 30, D-70593, Stuttgart, Germany. Koenig@uni-hohenheim.de.|Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Entomologische Abteilung, Rosenstein 1, D-70191, Stuttgart, Germany. Koenig@uni-hohenheim.de.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: König
authors.affiliation: Institut für Umwelt und Natürliche Ressourcen IUNR, Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften ZHAW, CH-8820, Wädenswil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szallies
authors.affiliation: Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Zoologie, Tierökologie 220c, Garbenstraße 30, D-70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes L M
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Steidle
authors.affiliation: Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Zoologie, Tierökologie 220c, Garbenstraße 30, D-70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tolasch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008297:Male; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D012724:Sex Attractants
keywords: Chemosystematics; Elaterinae; Monitoring; Neryl esters; Pomachiliini