Identification of a sex attractant pheromone for the North American click beetle Elater abruptus (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Authors: MILLAR, JOCELYN - University Of California, Riverside; Serrano, Jacqueline; HALLORAN, SEAN - University Of California, Riverside; HANKS, LAWRENCE - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/8/2026
Publication Date: 4/16/2026
Citation: Millar, J.G., Serrano, J.M., Halloran, S.T., Hanks, L.M. 2026. Identification of a sex attractant pheromone for the North American click beetle Elater abruptus (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Journal of Chemical Ecology. 52. Article 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-026-01711-9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-026-01711-9

Interpretive Summary: Wireworms are insect pests that feed on many specialty crops and impact early plant development and root vegetable quality. These pests have become increasingly problematic in North America because of the lack of effective management strategies and pesticides. Sex pheromones used by the adult click beetles can be used as part of an effective management program, and have been identified for a few problematic species in the U.S. Despite this progress, more research is needed to identify pheromones of additional species across the country. USDA researchers in Wapato, WA in collaboration with university researchers, identified the pheromone of a click beetle found in the northeastern U.S. after nationwide field testing of naturally produced pheromones and structural analogs of other species. Our results indicate that the sex pheromone were attractive to male beetles of the same species in the regions where field tests were conducted. The pheromone compounds can now be used for trapping and monitoring, and may lead to additional pheromone identifications of related species.

Technical Abstract: Of the >1000 known species of North American click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), sex pheromones have only been identified from a handful of species. Here, we report the identification of 5-methylhexyl (Z)-4-decenoate as the female-produced pheromone of the elaterid Elater abruptus Say (subfamily Elaterinae), a species native to the northeastern United States. The pheromone was species-specific in the geographic region where it was tested, attracting only males of the target species. Ovipositor extracts contained a number of related esters, but only one, hexyl (Z)-4-decenoate, elicited responses from antennae of male beetles in coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram assays. In a field experiment, traps baited with 5-methylhexyl (Z)-4-decenoate, and those baited with the blend of that compound and hexyl (Z)-4-decenoate, captured significantly more beetles than did control traps. Hexyl (Z)-4-decenoate as a single component did not attract significant numbers of beetles. This phenomenon of the production of a number of inactive analogs and homologs of a pheromone component has been reported previously for a number of other elaterid species, and it remains unclear what purpose these apparently redundant compounds may serve.