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Sex pheromone of the tea aphid, Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

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Abstract

The tea aphid, Toxoptera aurantii, also called the “black citrus aphid”, is one of the most destructive insect pests in commercial tea plantations and gardens in southern China. In autumn, declining day length triggers production of winged T. aurantii sexuparae, which produce both winged males and wingless oviparae. Oviparous females then release sex pheromone that attracts potential mates. GC–MS analysis of volatile headspace extracts of T. aurantii oviparae revealed that they emit (4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactone (I) and (1R,4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactol (II) in a ratio of 4.3–4.9:1. Field-trapping experiments with synthetic I and II singly or as two-component blends of different doses and ratios showed significant attraction of T. aurantii males, as well as weak attraction of sexuparae. Identification of the T. aurantii sex pheromone provides a new opportunity for developing a pheromone-based monitoring and management strategy for the sexual phase of tea aphids and, possibly, the alate sexparous generation in late summer and fall.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Grant (20130432B10) from the Research Foundation of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China, and a Grant (SOL 2010/714) from Solidaridad Foundation of the Netherland. We thank Dr. Jeffrey Aldrich (Jeffrey R. Aldrich consulting, LLC, Santa Cruz, CA) for valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection and Quarantine, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

    Bao-Yu Han, Meng-Xin Wang, Ying-Cha Zheng, Yu-Qun Niu, Cheng Pan & Lin Cui

  2. USDA-ARS, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Bldg 007, BARC-WEST, 10300 Baltimore Blvd, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA

    Kamlesh R. Chauhan

  3. Sterling International, Inc., 3808 N. Sullivan Rd, Bldg 16, Spokane, WA, 99216-1630, USA

    Qing-He Zhang

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  1. Bao-Yu Han
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  2. Meng-Xin Wang
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  4. Yu-Qun Niu
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  5. Cheng Pan
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  7. Kamlesh R. Chauhan
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Correspondence to Qing-He Zhang.

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Handling Editor: Paulo H. G. Zarbin.

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Han, BY., Wang, MX., Zheng, YC. et al. Sex pheromone of the tea aphid, Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Chemoecology 24, 179–187 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-014-0161-6

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