Search results for "pheromone"

Laboratory and field studies to test the attractiveness of the Red Palm Weevil to synthetic palm esters

2011

THE RED PALM WEEVIL IN SICILY: THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF AN INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

2013

The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a pest from Southeast Asia accidentally introduced into North Africa and Europe two decades ago. In Sicily, RPW was recorded for the first time in 2005, then, in few years, it established becoming the most severe pest of ornamental palm species in urban, monumental and country areas. In this paper, we first report the history of its introduction and spread. Then, we reviewed the preventative and curative strategies that have been implemented with variable degrees of success in containing the invasive alien pest. Finally, we focus on the development of new strategies to detect early infestations and …

Electrophysiological and behavioral studies to test attractants semiochemicals for Stegobium paniceum L. (Coleoptera: Anobiidae)

2017

Stegobium paniceum (L.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), the drugstore beetle, is one of the major pests for a wide variety of dry and durable stored agricultural products. Females of S. paniceum produce a sex pheromone, (2S,3R,1'R)-Stegobinone, that attracts males. Nevertheless, trapping experiments using the synthetic sex pheromone in many cases showed low levels of captures, perhaps because of isomerization of the pheromone compound in ambient conditions. To date, very few brands of commercially S. paniceum pheromone are available in the market. In this study, we evaluated in electrophysiological (EAG) and behavioral bioassays (two-choice olfactometer), the response of S. paniceum male and femal…

Strategie di controllo di Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) con metodi alternativi agli interventi convenzionali in oliveti biologici della Sicilia occidentale

2011

This work reports studies on the population dynamics and safe control strategies of Bactrocera oleae in four unsprayed olive groves of western Sicily from 2007 to 2010. The main management tools for B. oleae evaluated were the“Attract and Kill” lures (Ecotrap Vioryl), the use of sardines (traditional practice) and Nu-lure (innovative) and the spinosad (innovative) which is a selective insect control product produced by the fermentation of a naturally occurring soil bacterium, Saccharopolyspora spinosa. Flies trend were carried out by pheromone traps and the level of infestation counting the number of fruits with pest eggs, larvae and pupae and hole hatching. Results showed that in all olive…

Monitoraggio e controllo di insetti infestanti le collezioni dell’erbario dell’orto botanico di Palermo

2021

Gli erbari sono strumenti d’importante rilevanza scientifica che conservano esempi di piante rare, endemiche o estinte, e assumono essi stessi notevole interesse come beni culturali per il loro valore storico ed estetico. Gli erbari possono essere soggetti all’attacco di diverse specie d’insetti che danneggiano le piante essiccate (exsiccata) con la loro attività di alimentazione. Il controllo di queste infestazioni è spesso aggravato dalla difficoltà di poter mettere in atto trattamenti insetticidi. In tale contesto è opportuno adoperare adeguati strumenti di monitoraggio e controllo basati su sostanze attrattive feromonali o alimentari per una corretta gestione integrata degli erbari.…

Sexual communication in the egg parasitoid Trissolcus brochymenae

2009

The males of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus brochymenae (Hymenoptera Scelionidae) exploit a short range pheromone for recognition of the other gender. To evaluate the role of this pheromone, the behavior of virgin males has been studied in closed arena when exposed to the following cues: 1) virgin females (alive, dead "washed" with solvents, dead" unwashed"); 2) dissected and re-assembled virgin females (females dissected into head, mesosoma, and gaster, then reassembled using two solvent "washed" parts and an "unwashed” part, or "unwashed" legs assembled with entire" washed" body); 3) "washed" females treated with acetone extracts (of virgin females and of legs). Males antennate and mount v…

A sex pheromone triggers courtship behaviour in the egg parasitoid Trissolcus brochymenae

2010

Essential oils composition of Periploca laevigata Aiton subsp. angustifolia (Labill.) Markgraf (Apocynaceae – Periplocoideae)

2012

The essential oil of roots, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits of Periploca laevigata Aiton subsp. angustifolia (Apocynaceae) from Lampedusa Island has been obtained by hydrodistillation and its composition analysed. The analyses allowed the identification and quantification of 86 volatile compounds. Branches showed the higher diversity with 57 compounds followed by fruits with 33, roots with 23, flowers with 16 and leaves with six compounds, respectively. In the matrices examined three constituents, heneicosane, docosane and tricosane are in common, although with different percentages. At least the most abundant compounds found in the matrices have been reported to have several biologica…

Essential oil composition of the fruits of Periploca laevigata Aiton subsp. angustifolia (Labill.) Markgraf (Apocynaceae – Periplocoideae)

2011

The essential oil of the fruits of Periploca laevigata Aiton subsp. angustifolia (Labill.) Markgraf (Apocynaceae) from Lampedusa Island was obtained by hydrodistillation and its composition was analysed. The analyses allowed the identification and quantification of 64 volatile compounds belonging to different classes. The most abundant compounds were nonacosane, heptacosane, hentriacontane and δ-cadinene. Among the volatile compounds identified in the fruits of P. laevigata subsp. angustifolia, 31 are present in other taxa of Apocynaceae, 19 have antimicrobial activity and four are pheromones for the butterfly Danaus chrysippus. The possible ecological role of the volatile compounds found i…

Attracted or repelled?--a matter of two neurons, one pheromone binding protein, and a chiral center.

1998

Abstract Two species of scarab beetles, the Osaka beetle (Anomala osakana) and the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica), utilize the opposite enantiomers of japonilure, (Z)-5-(1-decenyl)oxacyclopentan-2-one, as their sex pheromones. Each species produces only one of the enantiomers that functions as its own sex pheromone and as a very strong behavioral antagonist for the other species. Using an integrated approach we tested whether the discrimination of these two opposite signals is due to selective filtering by pheromone binding proteins or whether it originates in the specificity of ligand–receptor interactions. We found that the antennae of each of these two scarab species contain only a …