Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Environ Entomol. 2022 Dec 16;51(6):1136-1140. doi: 10.1093/ee/nvac079.
Vittatalactone, the aggregation pheromone of the striped cucumber beetle, Acalymma vittatum (F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is attractive to two species of squash bugs (Hemiptera: Coreidae), the squash bug Anasa tristis (DeGeer) and horned squash bug Anasa armigera (Say). In field trapping experiments in Maryland and Virginia, clear sticky traps baited with 1 mg of a synthetic 8-isomer mix of vittatalactone captured ~9× more of female A. tristis and of both sexes of A. armigera, whereas male A. tristis were not significantly attracted, compared to unbaited traps. A. armigera showed a distinct dose-response to vittatalactone lure loading in the late season, and this species was more attracted than A. tristis, based on comparison to captures from underneath wooden boards emplaced in adjacent fields. Results suggest that vittatalactone could be a 'keystone semiochemical' in colonization of cucurbit hosts by specialist herbivores, and may offer the opportunity for multi-species behavioral control as a component of integrated pest management in cucurbit crops.
维塔塔酮是黄瓜绿斑驳花叶甲（Acalymma vittatum（F.））的聚集信息素，对两种南瓜蝽（半翅目：Coreidae），即南瓜蝽（Anasa tristis（DeGeer））和角肩蝽（Anasa armigera（Say））具有吸引力。在马里兰州和弗吉尼亚州的野外诱捕实验中，用 1 毫克合成 8-异构体混合维塔塔酮的透明粘性诱捕器捕获了约 9 倍的雌性 A. tristis 和两性的 A. armigera，而未诱饵的诱捕器则没有明显吸引雄性 A. tristis。A. armigera 在季节后期对维塔塔酮诱饵加载表现出明显的剂量反应，与放置在相邻田地下方的木板上的捕获物相比，该物种比 A. tristis 更具吸引力。结果表明，维塔塔酮可能是专门食草动物在瓜类宿主定殖的“关键半化学物质”，并可能为多种生物行为控制提供机会，作为瓜类作物综合虫害管理的一个组成部分。
