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10-Minute Presentation

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-min: P-IE, Chemical Ecology

Delineating the effective zone of inhibition of SPLAT MCH-based semiochemical repellents for interrupting spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), host searching and aggregation behaviors

Sunday, November 10, 2024
8:48 AM – 9:00 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 225 A, PCC
Oral Presentation
Spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby), is the most significant pest of mature spruce trees, Picea spp., in western North America. Several ongoing outbreaks have impacted numerous hectares of spruce forests across the west, particularly in Southcentral Alaska. Semiochemical interruption is a management technique whereby volatile compounds are used to disrupt an organism's behaviors utilizing knowledge of the organism’s chemical ecology. Our team has been working towards development of a semiochemical repellent for protecting spruce trees (Picea spp.) in Alaska and in the Rocky Mountains from D. rufipennis driven mortality. We have tested SPLAT® MCH (3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one, D. rufipennis primary antiaggregation pheromone) alone and in combination with several additional repellent compounds. After identifying repellent combinations that consistently reduce mortality of treated spruce trees and of neighboring spruce trees, we were interested in elucidating the distance from a point source (on a spruce tree) at which the semiochemicals no longer interrupt D. rufipennis host searching and aggregation behaviors. We implemented three trapping assays. For each assay, trapping arrays were erected around nine treated spruce trees (three treatments). Each array included 25 stations, five directions (0, 72, 144, 216, and 288o) by five distances (2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 m). Traps were baited with a D. rufipennis lure and were randomly assigned such that there was a single trap per distance and direction. Each collection cup received a Hot-Shot Pest strip to kill captured insects. Traps were emptied and re-randomized daily for 7-10 d (21 - 30 replications/treatment). Results and implications are discussed.