Entomology and Zoology Section, Department of Entomology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Pest Manag Sci. 2011 Jan;67(1):77-81. doi: 10.1002/ps.2035. Epub 2010 Oct 15.
The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, accidentally introduced into the European countries facing the Mediterranean basin, is becoming the most serious pest for ornamental palms in the urban environment. In the present work, tests were conducted on the electroantennogram (EAG) and behavioural responses of RPW adults to five selected synthetic palm esters, ethyl propionate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl isobutyrate, ethyl lactate and ethyl acetate, to assess the application of a mass trapping technique in an urban environment.
In the laboratory, EAG bioassays on RPW adults with the synthetic palm esters showed: (1) positive dose-dependent responses; (2) differences among the treatments; (3) a greater response to ethyl propionate; (4) a higher sensitivity of female antennae compared with male antennae. In the urban environment, RPW behavioural responses, evaluated over six biweekly observations on pheromone- and molasses- baited traps, showed that more adults were caught by traps supplemented with ethyl propionate and ethyl acetate than by traps supplemented with only ethyl propionate. Similar catches were recorded in the traps supplemented with ethyl propionate or ethyl acetate.
This study supports the application of the mass trapping implemented with synthetic palm esters as a potential tool for the management of RPW populations to protect ornamental palms in urban environments.
红棕榈象（RPW），Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier，偶然引入地中海国家，已成为城市环境中观赏棕榈树最严重的害虫。本研究中，对 RPW 成虫的触角电位（EAG）和行为反应进行了测试，以评估在城市环境中应用大量诱捕技术的可能性，共测试了 5 种选定的合成棕榈酯，即丙酸乙酯、丁酸乙酯、异丁酸乙酯、乳酸乙酯和乙酸乙酯。
在实验室中，用合成棕榈酯对 RPW 成虫进行 EAG 生物测定，结果显示：（1）对剂量呈正相关的反应；（2）不同处理之间存在差异；（3）对丙酸乙酯的反应更大；（4）雌触角比雄触角更敏感。在城市环境中，通过对性信息素和糖蜜诱饵诱捕器进行 6 次双周观察，评估 RPW 的行为反应，结果表明，与仅补充丙酸乙酯的诱捕器相比，补充丙酸乙酯和乙酸乙酯的诱捕器捕获的成虫更多。在补充丙酸乙酯或乙酸乙酯的诱捕器中，捕获的成虫数量相似。
本研究支持应用合成棕榈酯进行大量诱捕，作为保护城市环境中观赏棕榈树的 RPW 种群管理的一种潜在工具。
