In an effort to facilitate reintroduction efforts of the Federally endangered Nicrophorus americanus a synthetic bait was developed to improve survey techniques. Rotten chicken is the preferred bait for population surveys of Nicrophorus. It is, however, an inconsistent bait and a more predictable bait would be preferred. Using headspace volatile collection, the volatiles released from 48 hour decomposed chicken were collected. These volatiles were identified using a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometer. Wind-tunnel bioassays were preformed using N. orbicollis, N. tomentosus, and N. americanus to find blends of chemicals that elicited behavioral responses similar to rotten chicken. Blends of chemicals including butyric acid, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, nonanal, phenol, and propanoic acid were found to elicit such responses.
Species 1: Coleoptera Silphidae Nicrophorus orbicollis (Burying Beetle)
Species 2: Coleoptera Silphidae Nicrophorus tomentosus (Burying Beetle)
Species 3: Coleoptera Silphidae Nicrophorus americanus (American Burying Beetle)
Keywords: chemical ecology, synthetic bait
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