Female Asian Longhorned Beetles Pheromone May Be Key To Pest Management
Thursday, February 13, 2014 - 15:10
in Biology & Nature
Asian longhorned beetles are an invasive pest that affects about 25 tree species in the United States. Female Asian longhorned beetles lure males to their locations by laying down sex-specific pheromone trails on tree surfaces, according to an international team of researchers. The researchers isolated and identified four chemicals from the trails of virgin and mated female Asian longhorned beetles -- Anoplophora glabripennis -- that were not found in the trails of males. They found that the pheromone trails contained two major components -- 2-methyldocosane and (Z)-9-tricosene -- and two minor components -- (Z)-9-pentacosene and (Z)-7-pentacosene. read more