Sex Pheromone Components in Defense of Melon Fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae Against Asian House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus

The Asian house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, after being acclimatized to feeding on the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae, consumed fewer numbers of 15-day-old (DO) and older male melon flies compared to sexually immature flies 10 DO and younger. The first male melon fly that performed mating did so on the 10th day after eclosion (DAE), but >80% of the males performed their first mating between 10 and 15 DAE. This confirmed that between 10 and 15 DAE most male melon flies are already sexually mature and producing sex pheromone. Synthetic 1,3-nonanediol, a component of male melon fly sex pheromone produced endogenously, when topically applied onto the thorax of housefly Musca domestica at ca. 80 or 320 ng/fly, reduced consumption by geckos compared with untreated flies in subsequent days after the first day in a four-day feeding test. Raspberry ketone (RK) is consumed and sequestered into the pheromonal gland and later released as a pheromonal component of male melon fly. Houseflies topically treated with 2.6 g RK/fly did not deter predation by geckos. However, houseflies treated with 5.1 g RK/fly caused geckos to consume fewer flies, especially on the third and fourth days during a four-day feeding test, compared with the period when they were offered untreated flies.     

Chemiotropic behavior of female olive fly (Bactrocera oleae GMEL.) onOlea europaea L

An interpretation is given of a number of observations on the chemiotropic behavior ofBactrocera oleae in connection with olive maceration water and the fly's return to the olive groves after the first summer rains. To this end, the headspace of both maceration water and leaf leaching water, simulating rainfall, were examined. In both cases, the presence of ammonia, which is generally known to attract fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae), was detected and, for the first time, in addition to other compounds that are inert for the fly, the presence of styrene was also detected. This aromatic hydrocarbon was found to be a strong attractant. It is shown that both ammonia and styrene are products of the metabolism of microbial flora present on the olive and leaf surface.     

基于可见/近红外光谱技术的橘小实蝇侵染柑橘检测研究

目的 使用可见/近红外光谱技术实施橘小实蝇侵染柑橘不同时期的无损检测。方法 研究选取人工制备的不同侵染时期的柑橘样本作为研究对象,利用搭建的可见/近红外光谱系统测量的光谱信息结合人工标定的侵染时期,对原始光谱进行了5种预处理,采用竞争性自适应重加权算法(competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, CARS)、连续投影算法(successive projections algorithm, SPA)两类方法提取反映侵染柑橘时期变化的光谱特征波长,应用偏最小二乘判别分析(partial least squares discriminant analysis,PLS-DA)建立基于特征波长光谱的柑橘侵染时期分类模型,对比分析不同光谱预处理方法的模型分类效果。结果 原始光谱经多元散射校正(multiplicative scatter correction, MSC)预处理的模型分类效果最佳,分别经CARS方法和SPA方法优选出了34和16个光谱特征波长。采用MSC-CARS-PLS-DA方法构建的模型分类效果最好,总准确率、假阳率分别为96.8%和0.0...     

荷花的一种新害虫--茶黄蓟马及其防治对策

茶黄蓟马是荷花上一种新害虫,该蓟马在我国大陆过去尚无为害荷花的记录.近年,广东省佛山市三水区"荷花世界"园,受茶黄蓟马严重为害.为此,开展系统调查研究,明确该蓟马的主要寄主及转移动向,并提出防治对策.     

Consumption and Metabolism of 1,2-Dimethoxy-4-(3-Fluoro-2-Propenyl)Benzene, a Fluorine Analog of Methyl Eugenol, in the Oriental Fruit Fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)

Methyl eugenol (ME) is a natural phenylpropanoid highly attractive to oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) males. The flies eagerly feed on ME and produce hydroxylated metabolites with both pheromonal and allomonal functions. Side-chain metabolic activation of ME has long been recognized as a primary reason for hepatocarcinogenicity of this compound on rodents. In an attempt to develop a safer alternative to ME for fruit fly management, we developed a fluorine analog 1,2-dimethoxy-4-(3-fluoro-2-propenyl)benzene (I), which, in earlier field tests, was as active to the oriental fruit fly as ME. Now we report that B. dorsalis males are not only attracted to, but also eagerly consume (up to ∼1 mg/insect) compound I, thus recognizing this fluorinated benzene as a close kin of the natural ME. The flies metabolized the fluorine analog I in a similar fashion producing mostly two hydroxylated products, 2-(3-fluoro-2-propenyl)-4,5-dimethoxyphenol (II) and (E)-coniferyl alcohol (III), which they stored in rectal glands. However, the introduction of the fluorine atom at the terminal carbon atom of the double bond favors the ring hydroxylation over a side-chain metabolic oxidation pathway, by which coniferyl alcohol is produced. It also appears that fluorination overall impedes the metabolism: at high feed rate (10 μl per 10 males), the flies consumed in total more fluorine analog I than ME but were unable to metabolize it as efficiently as ME.     

Ring-Fluorinated Analog of Methyl Eugenol: Attractiveness to and Metabolism in the Oriental Fruit Fly, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bactrocera Dorsalis</Emphasis> (Hendel)

Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), males are highly attracted to the natural phenylpropanoid methyl eugenol (ME). They compulsively feed on ME and metabolize it to ring and side-chain hydroxylated compounds that have both pheromonal and allomonal functions. Side-chain metabolic activation of ME leading to (E)-coniferyl alcohol has long been recognized as a primary reason for hepatocarcinogenicity of this compound in rodents. Earlier, we demonstrated that introduction of a fluorine atom at the terminal carbon of the ME side chain significantly depressed metabolism and specifically reduced formation of coniferyl alcohol but had little effect on field attractiveness to B. dorsalis. In the current paper, we demonstrate that fluorination of ME at the 4 position of the aromatic ring blocks metabolic ring-hydroxylation but overall enhances side-chain metabolism by increasing production of fluorinated (E)-coniferyl alcohol. In laboratory experiments, oriental fruit fly males were attracted to and readily consumed 1,2-dimethoxy-4-fluoro-5-(2-propenyl)benzene (I) at rates similar to ME but metabolized it faster. Flies that consumed the fluorine analog were as healthy post feeding as ones fed on methyl eugenol. In field trials, the fluorine analog I was ∼50% less attractive to male B. dorsalis than ME.

New Attractants for Males of the Solanaceous Fruit Fly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bactrocera latifrons</Emphasis>

α-Ionone, α-ionol, and their mixtures with phenolic volatiles act as potential male lures for the solanaceous fruit fly Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel). However, the attractiveness of these compounds is not as strong as that of other well-known tephritid male lures, such as methyl eugenol for Bactrocera dorsalis. Isophorone and isophorol, which have a partial skeletal structure of α-ionone/α-ionol (i.e., trimethylcyclohexene), were attractive to B. latifrons males, and their mixtures with α-ionol exhibited stronger activity than any of the individual compounds. We also tested 3-oxo-α-ionone, 3-oxo-α-ionol, 3-hydroxy-α-ionone, and 3-hydroxy-α-ionol, hybrid compounds between isophorone/isophorol and α-ionone/α-ionol. 3-Oxo-α-ionone and 3-oxo-α-ionol were active both as attractants and phagostimulants for males. The results suggest that the introduction of an oxygen atom at the 3-position of the α-ionone/α-ionol molecule optimizes the specific chemosensory responses in B. latifrons males.     

Attraction of Female and Male Bactrocera papayae to Conspecific Males Fed with Methyl Eugenol and Attraction of Females to Male Sex Pheromone Components

The attraction of female and male Bactrocera papayae to conspecific males fed with methyl eugenol (ME) and female attraction to male synthetic sex pheromone, trans-coniferyl alcohol (CF), were evaluated in a wind tunnel. Earlier and greater attraction were exhibited by both females and males to ME-fed than to non-ME-fed males as dusk approaches. Males increased their precopulatory behavior (i.e., wing fanning and mounting) during the period of higher attractancy. These data confirm that the consumption of ME enhances the mating competitiveness of males and suggest that ME also functions as a precursor to the male sex and aggregation pheromones. Three phenylpropanoid compounds biosynthesized from ME, coniferyl alcohol, 2-allyl-4,5-dimethoxyphenol, and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamyl alcohol, were detected in male rectal gland along with an endogenous rectal compound, N-(3-methylbutyl) acetamide. When offered singly to the females, coniferyl alcohol was found to be most attractive.