Patent Number: 6703014
Docket Number: 20702
Serial Number: 10243277
Date Patented: 03/09/2004

Technology Description: Agricultural Research Service and University of Maine entomologists have discovered chemical scents that attract Colorado potato beetles worldwide--potato crops’ most destructive foe. For at least 73 years, scientists have been searching for a scent that attracts this bug to solanaceous plants. These synthetic chemical blends are as effective at attracting the beetles as the authentic scents themselves. In field tests, the beetles were captured with a synthetic lure containing a mixture of a few of these compounds. Until now, no one had ever caught a Colorado potato beetle with a synthetic lure. These naturally occurring chemicals could be used to monitor and control pest populations. The scientists have also discovered repellants that are effective at warding off this pest. Growers use insecticides to control the critter, but it has armed itself with resistance to many chemicals. This attractant could be combined with a toxin or pathogen in a bait, which could be used to control this pest. Market demand for a synthetic attractant and repellant should be high, since the pest is the most serious potato pest worldwide. Chemical companies that manufacture insecticides could use this invention. Reference: Please refer to USPN 6,703,014 (Docket #0207.02), "Attractants and Repellants for Colorado Potato Beetle," which issued March 9, 2004, and is a divisional of USPN 6,479,046, which issued  November 12, 2002. Foreign rights are available. Inventors: Joseph C. Dickens Henry A. Wallace   Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Beltsville, MD 20705 (301) 504-5482 / Fax: (301) 504-6580 dickensj@ba.ars.usda.gov Randall A. Alford   University of Maine Department of Biological Sciences Orono, ME 04469 (207) 866-7517