Author
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Bartelt, Robert |
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Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/24/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Male dusky sap beetles (Carpophilus lugubris Murray, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) produce a pheromone to which both sexes are attracted. The pheromone is strongly synergized by the odor of fermenting food materials (e.g., bread dough inoculated with yeast). The present study examined the spatial pattern of responses to the pheromone/food odor combination in the field: Do the attracted beetles all alight precisely at the pheromone source, or do the beetles alight also at other, pheromone-free food materials in the general area of the pheromone source? Eight test blocks obtained 25 traps in a square grid with 1-m spacing; the center trap was baited with pheromone and fermenting dough, but the other 24 traps were baited only with dough. Nearly 30% of the total beetles captured in these blocks were in traps baited with dough alone. The rate of entry into dough-only traps was 4.0 times higher than in eight similar blocks that did not have pheromone in the center trap (P<<0.001). Thus a single pheromone emitter (such as a "pioneer" male beetle) could promote infestation of adjacent feeding sites (as well as attract a mate for the pioneer male). In a natural situation, responding males landing at the "new" food sites would, in turn, begin to produce pheromone within a day or two, further causing the infestation to build and spread. This finding carries a practical implication about using Carpophilus pheromones for protecting crops: If the intent is to mass-trap the beetle population, then the traps should not be placed too close to the plants to be protected. |
