ISSN:
1573-1561
Keywords:
Kairomonal attractants
;
Diabroticite beetles
;
Coleoptera
;
Chrysomelidae
;
olfactory synergism
;
trimethoxybenzene
;
indole
;
cinnamaldehyde
;
4-methoxycinnamaldehyde
;
4-methoxyphenethanol
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Abstract Olfactory synergism, where combinations of plant volatile kairomones are quantitatively more attractive to insects than the sum of attraction of the individual components, is an important but little-studied phenomenon in host plant selection and feeding and in pollination ecology. Diabroticite beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are strongly attracted toCucurbita blossoms, and 2- to 3-fold olfactory synergism has been demonstrated in four species by combinations of the key blossom volatiles, 1,2,4-trimethoxybenzene, indole, and (E)-cinnamaldehyde. This TIC mixture represents an optimizedCurcurbita blossom volatile kairomone mixture useful in monitoring Diabroticite populations and in studying their behavior and ecology. Indole, which exhibits a spectrum of attraction to these beetles ranging from moderate forDiabrotica virgifera virgifera andAcalymma vittatum to very weak forD. barberi, is the primary synergistic component. Indole combined with 4-methoxycinnamaldehyde was significantly synergistic toD. v. virgifera at a ratio of 1:300 and produced 4-fold synergism at a ratio of 1:1. Indole combined with 4-methoxyphenethanol was less synergistic toD. barberi with 1.5- to 2-fold synergism at a 1:1 ratio. These consistent variations in diabroticite beetle olfactory responses presumably indicate evolutionary divergences in the numbers of relict indole antennal receptors.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02228317
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