Our laboratory has continued its study of flea beetle pheromones. Volatile emissions from individual males of three flea beetle species, Phyllotreta striolata, P. conjuncta, and P. pusilla (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), feeding on their host plant (cabbage), contained chemical compounds not found in the volatiles from feeding female beetles. GC-MS analyses revealed at least eight male-specific, sesquiterpenoid compounds in each of the species. Some individual components occurred in more than one species and also in the previously studied aggregation pheromone of P. cruciferae. Other compounds, from P. striolata and P. pusilla, were not encountered previously. The ratios of the male-specific compounds were generally consistent within species but differed between species. The new compounds were characterized by spectra and a number of them were synthesized. GC-EAD activity was demonstrated on both male and female antennae for many of the compounds. These findings are consistent with the existence of male-produced aggregation pheromones in all of the species.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Phyllotreta striolata
Species 2: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Phyllotreta conjuncta
Species 3: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Phyllotreta pusilla
Keywords: pheromone
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