Host plant odours enhance the responses of adult banana weevil to the synthetic aggregation pheromone Cosmolure+®

AbstractThe effects of host and non-host plant odours on the foraging responses of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar), were investigated in the laboratory through arena and olfactometer bioassays. Contrary to previous reports that banana rhizome and pseudostem were the most attractive parts to the weevil, dead leaves were most preferred. Comparison of dead banana leaves with dead leaves of other plants showed that attractant odours were present in yam, cocoyam and dead grasses but absent in cocoa and soybean leaves. Complete leaf senescence while the leaf was attached to the mother plant proved necessary for the development of the dead-leaf-based odours but the involvement of microbial organisms could not be demonstrated. It is possible that dead-leaf-based attractants could be used in combination with microbials such as entomogenous fungi and nematodes in integrated management of C. sordidus.

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Different bioassays for investigating orientation responses of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus , show additive effects of host plant volatiles and a synthetic male-produced aggregation pheromone

Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata ◽

10.1046/j.1570-7458.2003.00025.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 106 (3) ◽

pp. 169-175 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

William Tinzaara ◽

Marcel Dicke ◽

Arnold Van Huis ◽

Joop J. A. Van Loon ◽

Clifford S. Gold

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Aggregation Pheromone ◽

Plant Volatiles ◽

Cosmopolites Sordidus ◽

Banana Weevil ◽

Additive Effects ◽

Host Plant Volatiles

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α-Terpineol: An Aggregation Pheromone in Optatus palmaris (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (Pascoe, 1889) Enhanced by Its Host-Plant Volatiles

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26102861 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (10) ◽

pp. 2861

Author(s):

José Manuel Pineda-Ríos ◽

Juan Cibrián-Tovar ◽

Luis Martín Hernández-Fuentes ◽

Rosa María López-Romero ◽

Lauro Soto-Rojas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Aggregation Pheromone ◽

Plant Volatiles ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Host Plant Volatiles ◽

Management Scheme ◽

Volatile Production

The Annonaceae fruits weevil (Optatus palmaris) causes high losses to the soursop production in Mexico. Damage occurs when larvae and adults feed on the fruits; however, there is limited research about control strategies against this pest. However, pheromones provide a high potential management scheme for this curculio. Thus, this research characterized the behavior and volatile production of O. palmaris in response to their feeding habits. Olfactometry assays established preference by weevils to volatiles produced by feeding males and soursop. The behavior observed suggests the presence of an aggregation pheromone and a kairomone. Subsequently, insect volatiles sampled by solid-phase microextraction and dynamic headspace detected a unique compound on feeding males increased especially when feeding. Feeding-starvation experiments showed an averaged fifteen-fold increase in the concentration of a monoterpenoid on males feeding on soursop, and a decrease of the release of this compound males stop feeding. GC-MS analysis of volatiles identified this compound as α-terpineol. Further olfactometry assays using α-terpineol and soursop, demonstrated that this combination is double attractive to Annonaceae weevils than only soursop volatiles. The results showed a complementation effect between α-terpineol and soursop volatiles. Thus, α-terpineol is the aggregation pheromone of O. palmaris, and its concentration is enhanced by host-plant volatiles.

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