Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA.
Pest Manag Sci. 2022 Sep;78(9):3795-3803. doi: 10.1002/ps.6739. Epub 2021 Dec 11.
Colorado potato beetle [Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say); Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae] is a widespread key pest of potatoes and other solanaceous crops of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Its evolution of multiple pesticide resistance is a continuing threat if chemical control is relied upon for pest management. An integrated approach including semiochemicals and other non-pesticidal tactics is essential to sustainable management. In addition to the known volatile aggregation pheromone produced by male adult beetles that is attractive to both females and males, there is a yet-unidentified female-produced sex pheromone. Using caged 'bait plants' in the field in Maryland, USA, we tested the attraction of male and female beetles to groups of male-only, female-only, larvae, and uninfested bait plants.
Results of five field experiments demonstrate that the female-produced sex pheromone is attractive to male beetles, whereas the male-produced pheromone is attractive to both females and males. Male attraction increased with higher densities of females on bait plants, but female attraction did not change with female density on bait plants.
This is the first study to demonstrate male attraction to the female sex pheromone in the field, and to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate a beetle species using bidirectional communication between males and females. Use of semiochemicals for monitoring and management of Colorado potato beetle should consider male-, female-, as well as plant-produced volatiles as important tools for pest manipulation in potato integrated pest management. Published 2021. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
科罗拉多马铃薯甲虫 [Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)；鞘翅目：叶甲科] 是一种广泛分布的马铃薯和其他茄科作物的关键害虫，在温带北半球。如果依靠化学控制来进行害虫管理，其对多种农药的抗性进化是一个持续的威胁。包括信息素和其他非农药策略在内的综合方法对于可持续管理至关重要。除了已知的由雄性成虫产生的、对雌雄两性均有吸引力的挥发性聚集信息素外，还有一种尚未确定的雌性产生的性信息素。我们在美国马里兰州使用笼中的“诱饵植物”在野外进行测试，观察雄性和雌性甲虫对雄性专用、雌性专用、幼虫和未受感染的诱饵植物群体的吸引力。
五项野外实验的结果表明，雌性产生的性信息素对雄性甲虫具有吸引力，而雄性产生的信息素对雌雄两性均具有吸引力。随着诱饵植物上雌性密度的增加，雄性的吸引力增加，但雌性的吸引力不会随诱饵植物上的雌性密度而改变。
这是首次在野外研究中证明雄性对雌性性信息素的吸引力，并且据我们所知，这是首次证明一种甲虫物种在雄性和雌性之间使用双向通讯。在科罗拉多马铃薯甲虫的监测和管理中使用信息素应考虑雄性、雌性以及植物产生的挥发物，作为马铃薯综合虫害管理中害虫操纵的重要工具。发表于 2021 年。本文是美国政府的工作，在美国属于公有领域。
