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Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), adults to host plant odors

Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), adults to host plant odors

Roberts, Joe M., Kundun, Jhaman, Rowley, Charlotte, Hall, David R. ORCID: 0000-0002-7887-466X, Douglas, Paul and Pope, Tom W. (2019) Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), adults to host plant odors. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 45 (10). pp. 858-868. ISSN 0098-0331 (Print), 1573-1561 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01108-x)

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Abstract

Vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus F. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is an economically important pest species in many soft-fruit and ornamental crops. Economic losses arise from damage to the roots, caused by larvae, and to the leaves, caused by adults. As adults are nocturnal and larvae feed below ground, infestations can initially be missed, and controls may, as a result, be applied too late. In the absence of a vine weevil sex or aggregation pheromone being identified, the development of an effective semiochemical lure for better management of this pest is likely to focus on host-plant volatiles. Here, we investigate the electrophysiological and behavioral responses of adult vine weevils to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) originating from their preferred host plant Euonymus fortunei, and synthetic VOCs associated with this host when presented individually or as blends. Consistent electroantennographic responses were observed to a range of generalist VOCs. Behavioral responses to VOCs, when presented individually, were found to be influenced by the concentration of the compound to which the weevils were exposed. Vine weevil adults showed directional movement towards a mixture of seven plant volatiles (methyl salicylate, 1-octen-3-ol, (E)-2-hexenol, (Z)-3-hexenol, 1-hexanol, (E)-2-pentenol, and linalool) even though either no response or negative responses were recorded to each of these compounds when presented individually. Similarly, vine weevils showed directional movement towards a 1:1 ratio mixture of (Z)-2-pentenol and methyl eugenol. Results presented here point to the importance of blends of generalist compounds and concentrations of VOCs in the optimization of a lure.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: vine weevil, euonymus fortunei, monitoring, electroantennography, air entrainment, olfactometry
Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department
Last Modified: 22 Oct 2020 01:38
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/25220

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