Author
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Jewett, Darryl |
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Carpenter, James |
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Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/1999 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Ichneumon promissorius is a pupal parasitoid recently introduced to the southeastern United States from Australia, and it could be a valuable tool for managing the corn earworm and tobacco budworm. As investigation of its importance to biological control proceeds, more convenient methods of monitoring I. promissorius in the field are desired. One method under consideration is the use of pheromones, chemicals produced by one sex to attract the opposite sex of that species for mating. Monitoring insect populations with sex pheromones is convenient, species-specific, and sensitive to low population densities. The present study describes the identification of an I. promissorius female extract that attracts males. This extract may facilitate monitoring of I. promissorius males in the field as it establishes itself locally. Technical Abstract: Data supporting the chemically mediated attraction of Ichneumon promissorius males by females were gathered with a behavioral bioassay and electroantennography. Live I. promissorius females and their whole-body extract of females elicited greater responses from male antennae than did live males, their whole-body extract or a control. In behavioral bioassays, more I. promissorius males were recovered from traps baited with live females or the diethyl ether rinse of a glass substrate to which females were exposed than with live males, their diethyl ether rinse or a control. Volatile materials collected from live females either effluvially or by their immersion in solvent did not attract males. |
