Male-produced aggregation pheromone of the cerambycid beetle Rosalia funebris

J Chem Ecol. 2009 Jan;35(1):96-103. doi: 10.1007/s10886-008-9576-2. Epub 2009 Jan 13.

Abstract

We report the identification, synthesis, and field bioassays of a volatile, male-produced aggregation pheromone of a long-horned beetle, the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris Mots. Headspace collections from males contained a major male-specific compound, (Z)-3-decenyl (E)-2-hexenoate, and several minor components, identified as (Z)-3-decenol, (Z)-3-nonenyl (E)-2-hexenoate, and (Z)-3-decenyl (E)-3-hexenoate. The antennae of both males and females responded strongly to (Z)-3-decenyl (E)-2-hexenoate. We collected significant numbers of adult R. funebris in field bioassays using traps baited with this compound. This pheromone structure is unprecedented in the literature of cerambycid pheromones and distinct from the more common diol/hydroxyketone pheromone motif of many other species of the diverse subfamily Cerambycinae. This is the first pheromone identified for a species in the tribe Rosaliini.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caproates / chemical synthesis
  • Caproates / isolation & purification
  • Caproates / pharmacology
  • Chromatography, Gas
  • Coleoptera / physiology*
  • Female
  • Male
  • Sex Attractants / chemical synthesis
  • Sex Attractants / isolation & purification*
  • Sex Attractants / pharmacology*
  • Sexual Behavior, Animal / drug effects
  • Volatilization

Substances

  • 3-decenyl-2-hexenoic acid
  • Caproates
  • Sex Attractants