Abstract
The scarab genus Osmoderma (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) includes several large species called hermit beetles that develop within dead and decaying hardwood trees. Males of at least three Palearctic species produce the aggregation-sex pheromone (R)-(+)-γ-decalactone, including the endangered O. eremita (Scopoli). However, hermit beetles have received less attention in the western hemisphere, resulting in a large gap in our knowledge of the chemical ecology of Nearctic species. Here, we identify (R)-( +)-γ-decalactone as the primary component of the aggregation-sex pheromone of the North American species Osmoderma eremicola (Knoch). Field trials at sites in Wisconsin and Illinois revealed that both sexes were attracted to lures containing (R)-(+)-γ-decalactone or the racemate, but only males of O. eremicola produced the pheromone in laboratory bioassays, alongside an occasional trace of the chain-length analog γ-dodecalactone. Females of the congener O. scabra (Palisot de Beauvois) were also significantly attracted by γ-decalactone, suggesting further conservation of the pheromone, as were females of the click beetle Elater abruptus Say (Coleoptera: Elateridae), suggesting that this compound may have widespread kairomonal activity. Further research is needed to explore the behavioral roles of both lactones in mediating behavioral and ecological interactions among these beetle species.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Toivo Kallas (UW Oshkosh) for providing larval specimens of O. eremicola, Dr. Kevin Crawford (UW Oshkosh) for GC-MS technical support, Jackie Behrens (UW Oshkosh) for preparing specimens, Dr. Jocelyn Millar and Sean Halloran (UC Riverside) for assistance in determining absolute configuration, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript. Additional thanks to AGM Nature Preserve, Mosquito Hill Nature Preserve, Robert Allerton Park, and Forest Glen Preserve for access to parkland, and Ze Her and Lucy Cowan for access to additional field sites.
Funding
This work was supported by the collaborative grants program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (to GLS and RFM), and a TRIO Grant from the US Dept. of Education PR/Award Number P217A220180 (to GLS).
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GLS and RFM conceptualized and designed this experiment. All authors assisted with data collection. Data analysis was completed by GLS and RFM. The first draft of the manuscript was written by GLS. All authors edited and approved the final manuscript.
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10886_2024_1475_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Supplementary file1 Fig. S1 GC-FID traces illustrating isothermal (130 °C) injections of racemic γ-decalactone, (R)-(+)-γ-decalactone, headspace extract from a male of Osmoderma eremicola, and a combined injection of racemic γ-decalactone and the headspace extract (PDF 54 kb)
10886_2024_1475_MOESM2_ESM.pdf
Supplementary file2 Fig. S2 GC-FID traces illustrating isothermal (125 °C) injections of racemic γ-dodecalactone, headspace extract from a male of Osmoderma eremicola, and a combined injection of racemic γ-dodecalactone and the headspace extract (PDF 65 kb)
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Steffek, G.L., Grommes, A.S., Hanks, L.M. et al. (R)-(+)-γ-Decalactone is Conserved in North America as a Pheromone Component of Osmoderma eremicola (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and a Kairomone of Elater abruptus (Coleoptera: Elateridae). J Chem Ecol 50, 122–128 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-024-01475-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-024-01475-0