Pheromone and Host Plant Odor Detection in Eastern Spruce Budworm, Clemens (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

Spruce budworm, Clemens, is an ecologically significant defoliator of spruce and balsam fir in North America. Optimization of semiochemical-mediated control is needed to improve the existing integrated pest management systems such as mating disruption and population estimation. This study used single sensillum recordings (SSR) to identify the responses of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the antennal sensilla of adult male and female to host plant volatiles, and female sex pheromones.

Use of a Sprayable Sex Pheromone Formulation in Landscape-Level Control of Populations.

(SBW) is a major defoliating pest of balsam fir and spruce in eastern North America. As part of an integrated management strategy for SBW, we evaluated the effectiveness of mating disruption as a landscape-level population control tactic. Using a sprayable formulation (CONFOUND) containing a synthetic sex pheromone blend, we treated five 300 ha blocks in Northern New Brunswick with an aerially applied microencapsulated mixture.

Effects of Topical Tebufenozide Application to Pupae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

(Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a defoliating pest in Canada and the northeastern United States. Given its important ecological and economic effects in affected regions, several direct management techniques have been developed, including the application of the insect growth regulator tebufenozide (Mimic™, RH-5992) to feeding larval stages. While the effectiveness of tebufenozide, in this capacity, is understood, management programs of other lepidopteran pests have demonstrated the effectiveness of tebufenozide application when utilized against other life stages.

Semiochemical and Communication Ecology of the Emerald Ash Borer, (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).

Knowledge of buprestid chemical ecology is sparse but the appearance of the invasive pest Fairmaire in North America has provided the impetus to study in detail the semiochemistry and ecology of this important buprestid. The macrocyclic lactone (3Z)-12-dodecenolide [(3Z)-lactone] is identified as a key antennally-active compound that is produced by females and attracts males. Though a weak trap attractant alone, when combined with the host kairomone (3Z)-hexenol and the important visual cue of a green canopy trap, significant increases in male trap capture occur, thus defining (3Z)-lactone as both a sex pheromone of as well as the first and only known buprestid pheromone.

Evidence of Male Hair Pencil Pheromone in Choristoneura fumiferana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

Male Lepidoptera often possess specialized scales, called hair pencils that emit volatiles that are critical to mating success. Spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), males will display hair pencils to females before attempting copulation. The importance of volatiles on these hair pencils is, however, not clear.