Evidence for (E )-pityol as an aggregation pheromone of Pityophthorus pubescens (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Abstract

We present evidence favoring the use of (E )-pityol as an aggregation pheromone in Pityophthorus pubescens (Marsham). (E )-Pityol was detected in effluvia of male and female P. pubescens, and antennae of both sexes responded to (E )-( )-pityol in electroantennogram assays. In two-choice olfactometer tests, males significantly preferred (E )-( )-pityol and (E )-(9)-pityol to blank controls at doses of 1, 10, and 100 ng, whereas females only showed a preference for (E )-pityol at the 1 ng dose.