Identification and Synthesis of Leptotriene, a Unique Sesquiterpene Hydrocarbon from Males of the Leaffooted Bugs and . .

The leaffooted bugs and (Hemiptera: Coreidae) cause substantial damage in tree nut crops in North America and pine seed orchards in North America and Europe, respectively. Sexually mature males of both species produce a number of aldehydes, esters, and sesquiterpenes, which are hypothesized to constitute an aggregation pheromone attractive to both sexes. Among the volatiles produced by males of both species, we identified a unique sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, given the common name "leptotriene" (), which elicited strong responses from antennae of both sexes in electroantennogram assays.

Female Sex Pheromone of the Cone Moth, Dioryctria mendacella: Investigation of Synergism between Type I and Type II Pheromone Components.

Polyunsaturated hydrocarbons (Type II pheromone components) have been reported to be synergists for unsaturated acetates, alcohols or aldehydes (Type I components) in the sex pheromones of several species of Lepidoptera. However, there is some debate over whether the active components are the hydrocarbons themselves or more volatile degradation products. Extracts of pheromone glands of adult females of the cone moth, Dioryctria mendacella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), contain (Z,E)-9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate (ZE9,11-14:Ac) and at least ten times as much (Z,Z,Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9,12,15-pentacosapentaene (ZZZZZ3,6,9,12,15-25:H).

Smoke, pheromone and kairomone olfactory receptor neurons in males and females of the pine sawyer Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

The response of antennal olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) of Monochamus galloprovincialis to several odourants was tested using single sensillum electrophysiology. Behaviourally active pheromone, and kairomone (host and sympatric bark beetle pheromone) odours were tested alongside smoke compounds released by burnt wood that are potentially attractive to the insect. The antennae bore several types of sensilla.

Multilocus genotyping of Amylostereum spp. associated with Sirex noctilio and other woodwasps from Europe reveal clonal lineage introduced to the US.

Sirex noctilio is a woodwasp of Eurasian origin that was inadvertently introduced to the southern hemisphere in the 1900s and to North America over a decade ago. Its larvae bore in Pinus spp. and can cause significant mortality in pine plantations.

Identification and field activity of a male-produced aggregation pheromone in the pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus galloprovincialis.

The pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus galloprovincialis, is a pest of pine trees in Europe and North Africa. Previously considered a secondary pest of stressed and dying trees, it is now receiving considerable attention as a vector of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the causal agent of a lethal wilting disease in susceptible species of pines. Adult beetles are attracted to traps baited with a kairomone blend consisting of a host volatile, alpha-pinene, and two bark beetle pheromone components, ipsenol and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol.