Abstract

As a result of relaxation of importation restrictions ordered by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, shipments of fresh avocados from Mexico began entering California year-round in 2007, despite the fact that these shipments were heavily infested with a number of exotic and potentially invasive armored scale species that are not thought to be present in California. Here, we report the identification of the sex pheromone of one of these species, Acutaspis albopicta (Cockerell), from a quarantine colony of these insects initiated from specimens collected from commercial shipments of Mexican avocados. The compound was identified as [(1S,3S)-2,2-dimethyl-3-(prop-1-en-2-yl)cyclobutyl)]methyl (R)-2-methylbutanoate, and was similar in structure to the pheromones of several other scale and mealybug species. In laboratory bioassays, the pheromone was highly attractive to male scales in microgram doses. The pheromone will provide a very sensitive and selective tool for detection of the scale to try and prevent its permanent establishment in California.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Millar JG, Chinta SP, McElfresh JS, Robinson LJ, Morse JG

Institution

Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. jocelyn.millar@ucr.edu

Source

Journal of economic entomology 105:2 2012 Apr pg 497-504

MeSH

Animals
California
Electrophysiology
Female
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Hemiptera
Male
Persea
Sex Attractants
Sexual Behavior, Animal

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22606820