The use of synthetic pheromone lures to assess presence of Cerambycidae species at several sites across Idaho

Beetles in the family Cerambycidae spend the majority of their life cycle concealed within the tissues of trees and other plants, making systematic study of their distribution and habits difficult. Research conducted over the last 10 years has shown that many cerambycid species share common pheromone structural motifs, often across subfamilies. This knowledge of the pheromone structure within the Cerambycidae has facilitated the development of synthetic pheromone lures and lure blends that can be used to assess species presence and community structure within and across regions. A number of surveys have used synthetic pheromone lures to probe cerambycid populations in the eastern and southwestern U. S. To date, however, little work has been conducted using these pheromones to probe cerambycid communities in the Intermountain West region of the U. S. We used a number of synthetic pheromone blends to survey the cerambycid communities at four sites in northern and southern Idaho from May to September of 2014. Sixteen flight-intercept panel traps, each baited with a different synthetic pheromone treatment, were 10 m apart in a linear transect at each site. Beetles were collected, pheromone lures, replaced and treatment positions re-randomized at two week intervals. Results for our study will contribute to our knowledge of the cerambycid communities of this region and will facilitate comparisons of the structure of cerambycid communities across regions. This study will be repeated in 2015 and 2016.