Identification of a female produced pheromone in a destructive invasive species - Asian longhorn beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky)

Authors: XU, TIAN - State University Of New York (SUNY); HANSEN, LAURA - State University Of New York (SUNY); Cha, Dong; HAO, DEJUN - Nanjing Forestry University; ZHANG, LONGWA - Anhui Agricultural University; TEALE, STEPHEN - State University Of New York (SUNY)

Submitted to: Journal of Pest Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/2/2020
Publication Date: 5/26/2020
Citation: Xu, T., Hansen, L., Cha, D.H., Hao, D., Zhang, L., Teale, S.A. 2020. Identification of a female produced pheromone in a destructive invasive species - Asian longhorn beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis. Journal of Pest Science. 93:1321-1332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01229-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01229-3

Interpretive Summary: Asian longhorn beetle (ALB) is one of world’s most destructive invasive forest pests. Trapping using male produced semiochemicals is presently the means of detecting and monitoring the beetle, but there have been demands for stronger attractant. Currently, there are no chemical attractants identified from female ALB. Researchers at the USDA-ARS laboratory in Hilo, Hawaii and Sate University of New York in Syracuse, New York are developing female produced synthetic chemical attractant for ALB. a-longipinene, a female genitalia compound not found in male genitalia, attracted both sexes of ALB in laboratory and field. This result provides a first female produced attractant for ALB that might be useful for developing an attractive lure for detection, monitoring, and management of ALB.

Technical Abstract: Male-produced pheromone components have been reported in the Asian longhorn beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), but field attraction to these components has been less than overwhelming. Female ALB were observed rhythmically extending the genitalia in a manner reminiscent of female calling behaviors in other cerambycid species. We thus hypothesized that female ALB release volatile pheromone while performing this sex-specific behavior. A group of sesquiterpenes, including a major compound a-longipinene and several minor ones a-cubebene, a-ylangene, (-)-a-copaene, a bergamotene, ß-caryophyllene, and a-farnesene, found in genitalia extracts from virgin females elicited male antennal responses. Y tube olfactometer assays indicated significant attraction of a-longipinene to both sexes in either the presence or absence of host volatiles. This compound was also detected in genitalia extracts from virgin males, though in much lower quantities than in females. Dose-response experiments conducted in the y-tube olfactometer and field both revealed that a-longipinene was attractive at the higher doses, but not at the lower ones. In the field, traps baited with a blend containing a-longipinene, a-cubebene, and ß-caryophyllene captured significantly more ALB than solvent controls. The trap catches of a-longipinene combined with either the minor components or host compounds were both greater than those of a-longipinene alone, but the difference was not significant. These results indicate that a-longipinene is a new type of female-produced volatile pheromone in ALB, and the attraction may be synergistically enhanced by several minor components. Sesquiterpenes may play an important role in intraspecies chemical communication of this insect.