Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent, UK.
Thanet Earth Ltd, Barrow Man Road, Birchington, Kent, UK.
J Chem Ecol. 2021 May;47(4-5):394-405. doi: 10.1007/s10886-021-01270-1. Epub 2021 Apr 12.
Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Heteroptera: Miridae) is a tropical mirid bug used as a biocontrol agent in protected crops, including tomatoes. Although N. tenuis predates important insect pests, especially whitefly, it also causes damage by feeding on tomato plants when prey populations decline, resulting in significant economic losses for growers. The pest is now established in some all-year-round tomato crops in Europe and control measures involve the application of pesticides which are incompatible with current IPM programs. As part of future IPM strategies, the pheromone of N. tenuis was investigated. Volatile collections were made from groups and individuals of mated and unmated, females and males. In analyses of these collections by gas chromatography coupled with electroantennographic (EAG) recording from antennae of male bugs, two EAG-active components were detected and identified as 1-octanol and octyl hexanoate. Unlike other mirids, both male and female N. tenuis produced the two compounds, before and after mating, and both sexes gave EAG responses to both compounds. Furthermore, only octyl hexanoate was detected in whole body solvent washes from both sexes. These compounds are not related to the derivatives of 3-hydroxybutyrate esters found as pheromone components in other members of the Bryocrinae sub-family, and the latter could not be detected in volatiles from N. tenuis and did not elicit EAG responses. Nevertheless, experiments carried out in commercial glasshouses showed that traps baited with a blend of the synthetic pheromone components caught essentially only male N. tenuis, and significantly more than traps baited with octyl hexanoate alone. The latter caught significantly more N. tenuis than unbaited traps which generally caught very few bugs. Traps at plant height caught more N. tenuis males than traps 1 m above or at the base of the plants. The trap catches provided an indication of population levels of N. tenuis and were greatly reduced following an application of insecticide.
细角盲蝽（Reuter）（半翅目：盲蝽科）是一种热带盲蝽，被用作保护作物（包括番茄）的生物防治剂。尽管细角盲蝽在捕食重要的害虫，特别是粉虱方面具有重要作用，但当猎物种群减少时，它也会通过取食番茄植株而造成损害，从而给种植者造成重大经济损失。该害虫现已在欧洲的一些全年种植的番茄作物中建立了种群，控制措施涉及使用与当前综合虫害管理（IPM）计划不兼容的杀虫剂。作为未来 IPM 策略的一部分，研究了细角盲蝽的信息素。从交配和未交配的群体和个体以及雌雄盲蝽中收集挥发物。通过气相色谱法结合触角的电触角图（EAG）记录分析这些收集物，检测到并鉴定出两种 EAG 活性成分，分别为 1-辛醇和辛酸己酯。与其他盲蝽不同，雌雄细角盲蝽在交配前后都会产生这两种化合物，雌雄盲蝽对这两种化合物都有 EAG 反应。此外，仅从两性全身体溶剂洗脱物中检测到辛酸己酯。这些化合物与作为 Bryocrinae 亚科其他成员信息素成分的 3-羟基丁酸酯衍生物无关，也无法从细角盲蝽的挥发物中检测到，并且不能引起 EAG 反应。尽管如此，在商业温室中进行的实验表明，用合成信息素成分混合物诱捕的诱捕器基本上只捕获了雄性细角盲蝽，而且比单独用辛酸己酯诱捕的诱捕器捕获的数量明显更多。后者捕获的细角盲蝽比未诱捕的诱捕器多得多，而未诱捕的诱捕器通常捕获的盲蝽很少。在植物高度的诱捕器中捕获的细角盲蝽雄性多于在植物上方 1 米或在植物基部的诱捕器。诱捕器的捕获物提供了细角盲蝽种群水平的指示，并且在应用杀虫剂后大大减少。
