Identification of Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromone of the Curculionid Beetle Acrotomopus actropunctellus

SERGIO A. RODRÍGUEZ Y MÓNICA A. NAZARENO.

Congreso; III Congress of the Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology (ALAEQ); 2014

Introduction: The sugarcane stem weevil, Acrotomopus atropunctellus Material and methods: The colony was established from Acrotomopus actropunctellus adults collected from sugarcane fields located in Cruz Alta, Tucumán, Argentina, in january 2012 and 2013. Groups of 20 males and 20 females were maintained separately in all-glass aeration chambers with two pieces of sugarcane. Emitted volatiles were collected every 48 hr and trapped with polymer TENAX TA. Charcoal-filtered, humidified air was pushed though the aeration system Results: In chromatograms of males was possible to observe a male-specific compound with a molecular mass of 126 gmol . The NIST spectrum library proposed 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one. The identity was determined by co-injection with a commercial standard. Bioassays were carried out to study the attractiveness activity of this compound. Conclusions: It was possible to confirm the presence of a malespecific compound in A.acropunctellus, its identity and that act as an aggregation pheromone because attracted both sexes.