ABSTRACTS: Insect Pest Management: Oral Presentations In programme order Session 10 (Part I) Session 13 (Part II) Session 16 (Part III) Session 18 (Part IV) Session 21 (Part V) Session 24 (Part VI) Pheromone identification by SSGA – an analytical method using circadian rhythms of volatile emissions Anat Levi-Zada Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Israel The SSGA (Sequential SPME/GCMS analysis) method uses circadian rhythms of volatile emissions for identifying insect pheromones. The history/background in development of the SSGA method will be presented along with its advantages compared to other established methods. The usefulness of the SSGA method and how it can be implemented to gain circadian information on semiochemicals and pheromones will be demonstrated with examples of different pest insects such as moths, fruit flies, and mealybugs. I will also show how these volatiles can be further tested for their biological activity in order to optimize effective attractants. Keywords: Circadian rhythm; SPME; moth; mealybugs; fruit flies Nanofibers as carrier of push substances against pear psyllids Bruna Czarnobai De Jorge1, Hans E. Hummel2, Jürgen Gross1 1Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Center for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Fruit Crops and Viticulture, Laboratory of Applied Chemical Ecology, Schwabenheimer Str. 101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany 2Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Gießen, Germany Pear decline (PD) is a bacterial disease that causes considerable financial losses for growers in pear-growing areas in Europe. Fighting this disease requires a reliable and inexpensive method for protecting orchards against pear psyllids, which are the major responsible of its transmission. The need for alternatives to insecticides has stimulated studies on the use of plant essential oils and plant extracts against pest insects. But, little is known about the efficacy of essential oils and their specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as repellents against the PD vectoring pear psyllid Cacopsylla pyri, although they may provide a safe alternative to conventional insect control. The major drawback of VOCs use in field conditions is the lack of long-lasting systems for dispensing repellent substances for crop protection. Thus, we investigated nanotechnology as an innovative tool for delivery systems of VOCs. We evaluate the repellent and/or deterrent activity of Cinnamon bark Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Cedarwood Juniperus mexicana essential oils on female psyllids. In Y-shaped olfactometer bioassays, C. pyri females avoided the olfactometer arm containing essential oil of Cedarwood and Cinnamon bark, while more than 70% and 80% preferred the control arm, respectively (P < 0.01). Subsequently we formulated the essential oils in nanofibers made of biodegradable polymers as dispensers, and evaluated their release performance and the longevity of the nano-encapsulated repellents. In this study, we discuss the development of nanoformulations to enable the use of VOCs for push-and-pull systems to reduce migration and proliferation of psyllids in fruit orchards, preventing new infections by phytoplasmas. Keywords: Nanotechnology; Essential oils; volatile organic compounds; Repellents; Chemical ecology Volatiles of Capsicum annuum L. as attractant source for Lasioderma serricorne F. (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) Salvatore Guarino1, Sara Basile2, Barbara Manachini2, Pompeo Suma3, Pietro Ranno4, Mokhtar Abdulsattar Arif5, Ezio Peri2 1Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (IBBR), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Corso Calatafimi 414, 90129 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] 2Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Building 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy 3Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 100, I-95123 Catania, Italy 4Sanica SrL Life Science, Via Siena 24, 95100 Catania, Italy 5Plant Protection Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture, Abu-Ghraib 10081, Baghdad, Iraq The cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne F. (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), is an important stored product pest increasingly impacting museums and herbaria. Monitoring methods make use of pheromone traps which can be implemented using chili fruit powder as food attractant. In detail, recent studies evidenced that Capsicum annuum fruit powders elicited the strongest attraction among other Capsicum species. In this study we present the results of laboratory and trap bioassays aimed at identifying the chemical cues involved in this attraction in order to select candidate semiochemicals for their use as co-attractant in pheromone traps. Capsicum annuum fruit powder was extracted and fractionated for chemical analysis and olfactometer experiments, which evidenced that the attraction is solely determined by the polar fraction. Further olfactometer tests indicated that the attractive effects toward the adults of the beetle is determined by the main components of the fruit powder (i.e. α-ionone and β-ionone). Based on these data, a trap bioassay was carried out in a bread industry with pheromone traps implemented with α-ionone or β-ionone at different doses, in order to compare the recorded captures with those obtained in traps loaded with the commercial formulation of the synthetic sex pheromone alone. The results obtained showed as the traps baited with the combination of pheromone and β-ionone captured significantly more individuals than those loaded with pheromone alone or to pheromone traps implemented with α-ionone. Keywords: α-ionone; β-ionone; Cigarette beetle; chili; pheromone traps Host sex discrimination by egg parasitoids of stink bugs T Alınç1, MA Arif1,2, S Guarino3, S Colazza1, A Cusumano1, E Peri1 1Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 2Plant Protection Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture, Baghdad, Iraq 3Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (IBBR), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Palermo, Italy Egg parasitoids foraging for suitable hosts scattered in the environment rely mainly on chemical cues. During the host location process, egg parasitoids use a wide range of stimuli, such as long- range kairomones from the host/plant complex and short-range contact cues after landing on an infested plant. Egg parasitoids associated with stink bugs can detect chemical traces left by their hosts while walking on the leaves. Remarkably, chemical traces do not only provide information about potential presence of the stink bug host in the surrounding areas but also provide information on the host sex. In several stink bug-egg parasitoid systems, in fact female wasps spend more time on the traces left by female bugs which would normally be of higher hierarchical value, being more likely associated with egg presence. Such host sex discrimination strategy based on exploitation of host chemical traces has likely evolved by egg parasitoid species in order to avoid wasting time and ensure access to freshly laid eggs. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of host sex discrimination ability in egg parasitoids of stink bugs and discuss the role of cuticular hydrocarbons as key compounds mediating the discrimination behavior. Keywords: host-foraging behavior; cuticular hydrocarbons; kairomone; semiochemicals Characterization of the alarm pheromone of Bathycoelia distincta (Pentatomidae), a major pest of macadamia Elisa Pal1, Jeremy Allison 1,2, Brett Hurley1, Bernard Slippers3 and Gerda Fourie3 1Department of Zoology and Entomology, Forestry and Agricultural Biology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria 2Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, 1219 Queen St East, Sault Ste Marie, P6A2E5, Canada 3Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria Bathycoelia distincta (Pentatomidae) is the most dominant insect pest in South African macadamia orchards, where adults are responsible for causing severe yield losses. Similar to other hemipterans, B. distincta produce volatile compounds from their scent glands that can deter natural enemies, and act as alarm signal amongst conspecifics. These volatiles can be exploited for the development of pest management strategies. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the alarm pheromone of B. distincta in more detail. For this, we i) examined the scent gland extracts by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), ii) analysed volatiles released from live stink bugs after stress by GC-MS, and iii) evaluated the electrophysiological and behavioural activities of alarm pheromone compounds by dose- response experiments. A blend of sixteen compounds was identified in the scent gland extracts of adult stink bugs. Of these, six major compounds were released by live stink bugs after stress, namely (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-decenal, tridecane, dodecane, (E)-4-oxohex-2-enal and (E)-2-decenyl acetate. No qualitative and quantitative differences were observed between sexes. Tridecane was the most abundant compound, comprising ∼50% of total secretions. All compounds elicited a response from both male and female antennae, but the response varied according to compound and dose tested. (E)-2-Hexenal and (E)-2-decenal at lower and higher doses, elicited larger responses in both sexes than tridecane and dodecane. 4-Oxohex-2-enal and (E)-2-decenyl acetate generally elicited large antennal