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Identification of a Male-produced Aggregation Pheromone in the Western Flower Thrips Frankliniella occidentalis

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Abstract

Two major components have been detected in the headspace volatiles of adult male Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) that are not present in the headspace volatiles of adult females. The compounds were identified as (R)-lavandulyl acetate and neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate by comparison with synthetic standards using gas chromatography (GC), GC–mass spectrometry (MS), and chiral GC. Field trials were conducted with synthetic compounds in naturally infested crops of sweet pepper grown in large plastic greenhouses in Spain. The catch of adult females and males on blue sticky traps was increased by neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate alone or by a 1:1 blend of (R)-lavandulyl acetate and neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate, but (R)-lavandulyl acetate was not active alone. This is the first identification of an aggregation pheromone in the order Thysanoptera. The possible role of (R)-lavandulyl acetate is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported in part by Syngenta Bioline and Mercia Spinner. We are grateful to Gines and Pepe Zamora for access to their greenhouses to conduct our experiments. We thank Cedar Chittenden, Ian Dublon, Sophia Fuchs, Neil Holmes, Kenneth MacDonald, Tracy Nevatte, Ann O’Leary, Mark Whittaker, and Emma Wilkins for assistance with rearing and entrainments, Krishnakumari Bandi for preparing septa, and Ian Dublon for counting trap catches.

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  1. Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK

    James G. C. Hamilton & William D. J. Kirk

  2. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, UK

    David R. Hall

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  1. James G. C. Hamilton
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  2. David R. Hall
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Correspondence to James G. C. Hamilton.

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Hamilton, J.G.C., Hall, D.R. & Kirk, W.D.J. Identification of a Male-produced Aggregation Pheromone in the Western Flower Thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. J Chem Ecol 31, 1369–1379 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-005-1351-z

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