Alternative formulations of trap lures for operational detection, population monitoring, and outbreak forecasting of southern pine beetle in the United States

Abstract

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is amajor destructive pest of Pinus L. In the southeastern United States, numbers of this species and a majorpredator, Thanasimus dubius (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Cleridae), captured during an annual springtime trappingsurvey are used to make forecasts of the likelihood and severity of an outbreak during the following summer.We investigated responses by both species to six lure formulations to evaluate their suitability for the surveyand allow integration of historical data sets produced with differing lure compositions. Trapping trials wereperformed at four locations across three states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) during spring, and atthese and one additional location (North Carolina) in fall 2016. All lures included the pheromone componentfrontalin. Southern pine beetle preferred lures that additionally included the pheromone component endobrevicominand turpentine as a source of host odors (rather than a 7:3 mixture of monoterpenes alpha- andbeta-pinene). Thanasimus dubius displayed little discrimination among lure compositions. Lure preferencesby southern pine beetle did not differ significantly among locations in spring but were influenced by season.Gas chromatography (GC)-electroantennographic detection analyses with southern pine beetle and GC-massspectrometry identified numerous known and potential semiochemicals that distinguished volatiles releasedby the tested host odor devices. The lure combination that included endo-brevicomin and alpha/beta-pinene isrecommended for the trapping survey because of its high sensitivity for southern pine beetle and potential forgreater data integrity resulting from its reproducible composition.

Citation

Sullivan, Brian T; Shepherd, William P; Nowak, John T; Clarke, Stephen R; Merten, Paul R; Billings, Ronald F; Upton, William W; Riggins, John J; Brownie, Cavell. 2021. Alternative formulations of trap lures for operational detection, population monitoring, and outbreak forecasting of southern pine beetle in the United States. Journal of Economic Entomology. 114(3): 1189-1200. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toab062.