The potential impact of monoterpenes on the attraction and repellency of Conophthorus ponderosae Hopkins was examined in a ponderosa pine seed orchard in north-central Idaho. Two monoterpenes present in conifers (D-3 carene and a-pinene) act as synergists for pityol, the male sex pheromone, while another monoterpene, myrcene, acted as a beetle repellent. More C. ponderosae were captured in traps baited with either D-3 carene or a-pinene in combination with pityol then with any other bait (pityol alone, monoterpenes alone or non-baited control traps). During 2002, myrcene reduced trap catch of male C. ponderosae to the level of non-baited control traps and reduced the early-season attack by female beetles on second year cones in 2003. The implications of these results on the management of C. ponderosae in pine seed orchards will be discussed.
Species 1: Coleoptera Scolytidae Conophthorus ponderosae (Ponderosa pine cone beetle)
Keywords: Attraction
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