We are studying the potential occurrence of two stored grain bostrichid pests, Rhyzopertha dominica and Prostephanus truncatus, in wild habitats in Stillwater, OK using their aggregation pheromones. During 2002 and 2003, we conducted a series of replicated field experiments using multiple funnel traps baited with synthetic pheromone or with natural pheromone produced by males feeding on grain in small cages attached to traps. Ethanol was tested as a possible synergist for R. dominica as part of related research. R. dominica was commonly trapped in the forest with its synthetic and natural pheromone, but we have not captured P. truncatus using its natural and synthetic pheromones. P. truncatus is widely distributed in Central America and Africa, and we conclude it probably does not occur in Oklahoma. However, we captured large numbers of Zelus tetracanthus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) males with synthetic R. dominica pheromone, and this response was reduced by addition of ethanol. Prostephanus punctatus, a wood boring congener of the P. truncatus, was trapped in large numbers with natural and synthetic pheromone of P. truncatus. It is likely that P. punctatus uses the compounds Trunc-call-1 and Tunc-call-2, or similar compounds, as pheromones. Responses of Z. tetracanthus males to Dominicalure-1 and Dominicalure-2 suggest that one or both of these compounds play a role in the chemical ecology of this predaceous species.
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