Trapping Phyllophaga spp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) in the United States and Canada using sex attractants.

Authors

Paul S. Robbins, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Steven R. Alm, Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
Charles D. Armstrong, Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME
Anne L. Averille, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst MA
Thomas C. Baker, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA
Robert J. Bauernfiend, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS
Frederick P. Baxendale, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
S. Kris Braman, Georgia Experiment Station, Griffin, GA
Rick L. Brandenburg, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC
Daniel B. Cash, Franklinville, NY
Gary J. Couch, Cornell Univ. Cooperative Extension, Middletown, NY
Richard S. Cowles, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Windsor, CT
Robert L. Crocker, Texas Department of Agriculture
Zandra D. DeLamar, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL
Timothy G. Dittl, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Babcock, WI
Sheila M. Fitzpatrick, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada
Kathy L. Flanders, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL
Tom Forgatsch, Bandon, OR
Timothy J. Gibb, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN
Bruce D. Gill, Center for Plant Quarantine Pests, Ottawa, Canada
Daniel O. Gilrein, Cornell Univ. Cooperative Extension, Riverhead, NY
Clyde Gorsuch, Clemson Univ., Clemson, SC
Abner M. Hammond, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA
Patricia D. Hastings, Rutgers Univ. Cooperative Extension, New Brunswick, NJ
David W. Held, Mississippi State Univ, Biloxi, MS
James L. Holliman, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Marion Junction, AL
William G. Hudson, Univ. of Georgia, Tifton, GA
Michael G. Klein, Ohio State Univ., Wooster, OH
Vera L. Krischik, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
David J. Lee, New York State Tree Nursery, Saratoga Springs, NY
Charles E. Linn Jr., Cornell Univ., New York State Agric. Experiment Station, Geneva, NY
Nancy J. Luce, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Kenna MacKenzie, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Catherine M. Mannion, Univ. of Florida, Homestead, FL
Sridhar Polavarapu, Rutgers Univ., Blueberry and Cranberry Research Center, Chatsworth, NJ
Daniel A. Potter, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KYFollow
Daniel A. Potter, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KYFollow
Wendell Roelofs, Cornell Univ., New York State Agric. Experiment Station, Geneva, NY
Brian M. Royals, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC
Glenn A. Salsbury, Kansas Department of Agriculture
Nathan M. Schiff, USDA Forest Service, Stoneville, MS
David J. Shetlar, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH
Margaret Skinner, Univ. of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Beverly L. Sparks, Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA
Jessica A. Sutschek, Tarpon Springs, FL
Timothy P. Sutschek, Tarpon Springs, FL
Stanley R. Swier, Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Martha M. Sylvia, Univ. of Massachusetts Cranberry Experiment Station, Wareham,MN
Neil J. Vickers, Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Patricia A. Vittum, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Richard Weidman, Rutgers Univ. Cooperative Extension, New Brunswick, NJ
Donald C. Weber, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
R. Chris Williamson, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Michael G. Villani, Cornell Univ., New York State Agric. Experiment Station, Geneva, NY

Date of this Version

November 2006

Comments

Published in Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 6 | Article 39.

Abstract

The sex pheromone of the scarab beetle, Phyllophaga anxia, is a blend of the methyl esters of two amino acids, L-valine and L-isoleucine. A field trapping study was conducted, deploying different blends of the two compounds at 59 locations in the United States and Canada. More than 57,000 males of 61 Phyllophaga species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) were captured and identified. Three major findings included: (1) widespread use of the two compounds [of the 147 Phyllophaga (sensu stricto) species found in the United States and Canada, males of nearly 40% were captured]; (2) in most species intraspecific male response to the pheromone blends was stable between years and over geography; and (3) an unusual pheromone polymorphism was described from P. anxia. Populations at some locations were captured with L-valine methyl ester alone, whereas populations at other locations were captured with L-isoleucine methyl ester alone. At additional locations, the L-valine methyl ester-responding populations and the L-isoleucine methyl ester-responding populations were both present, producing a bimodal capture curve. In southeastern Massachusetts and in Rhode Island, in the United States, P. anxia males were captured with blends of L-valine methyl ester and L-isoleucine methyl ester.