Evidence for (E)-pityol as an aggregation pheromone of Pityophthorus pubescens (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Abstract

We present evidence favoring the use of (E)-pityol as an aggregation pheromone in Pityophthorus pubescens (Marsham). (E)-Pityol was detected in effluvia of male and female P. pubescens, and antennae of both sexes responded to (E)-(+)-pityol in electroantennogram assays. In two-choice olfactometer tests, males significantly preferred (E)-(+)-pityol and (E)-(±)-pityol to blank controls at doses of 1, 10, and 100ng, whereas females only showed a preference for (E)-pityol at the 1ng dose.