Fielding a strong defense: Optimizing the effectiveness of pheromone-based lures for detection of cerambycid beetles

Cerambycid beetles in the subfamilies Cerambycinae and Lamiinae are known to respond to aggregation-sex pheromones emitted by the males. Our first experiment targeted two cerambycine species whose pheromones are composed primarily of (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, (3-ketol), Neoclytus mucronatus mucronatus and Xylotrechus colonus. Our other two experiments targeted several species in the subfamily Lamiinae, whose pheromones are based on hydroxyethers, terpenoids, or sulcatone. In the first experiment, traps were baited with varying dosages of 3-Ketol (i.e., lures with varying release rates). In a second experiment, traps were baited with varying dosages of (E)-6, 10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-yl acetate (Fuscumol Acetate). In a third experiment, the dose of 6-Methylhept-5-en-2-ol (Sulcatol) was varied. Data collected from 2020 demonstrated that N. mucronatus was most strongly attracted to an intermediate dose of 3-Ketol. In contrast, adults of X. colonus were similarly attracted to a broad range of 3-Ketol doses. We are in the process of collecting data for the experiments on Fuscumol Acetate and Sulcatol. Findings from last year demonstrate that trap lure release rate can greatly influence the efficiency of trapping for cerambycid beetles. Care must be taken in combining supposed pheromone components, or pheromone components of heterospecifics, which may further alter attraction to traps.