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Identification of Sex Pheromone Components of Blueberry Spanworm Itame argillacearia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)

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Abstract

Blueberry spanworm, Itame argillacearia (Packard), is an important defoliator of lowbush (syn. ‘wild’) blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton, in north-eastern North America. The goal of the present study was to identify the female I. argillacearia sex pheromone, which could be used in traps for monitoring or mass-trapping this pest. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and electroantennogram (EAG) recordings of sex pheromone gland extracts, in combination with chemical synthesis, a Y-tube olfactometer study and field experiments confirmed (2R,3S)-2-ethyl-3-((Z,Z)-tridecadi-2,5-enyl) oxirane (hereafter (Z,Z)-(3R,4S)-3,4-epoxy-6,9-heptadecadiene) and (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heptadecatriene as female-produced sex pheromone components. (Z,Z)-(3R,4S)-3,4-Epoxy-6,9-heptadecadiene elicited a response from male I. argillacearia antennae during EAG recording, and in the Y-tube olfactometer tests males did not discriminate between a live female and (Z,Z)-(3R,4S)-3,4-epoxy-6,9-heptadecadiene. Field-trapping experiments showed that a blend of (Z,Z)-(3R,4S)-3,4-epoxy-6,9-heptadecadiene and (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heptadecatriene was more attractive to male moths than (Z,Z)-(3R,4S)-3,4-epoxy-6,9-heptadecadiene alone.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this research was through a Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture Technology Development grant, in partnership with the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, and through an Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency – Atlantic Innovation Fund. We thank Allysa Brewer and Jessica McConaghy for synthetic chemistry support. We also thank J. Sproule, K. Ramanaidu, M. M. Ayyanath and several summer research interns for technical assistance, Bragg Lumber Co. for granting access to their blueberry fields, and two anonymous reviewers and Dr. David Hall for their valuable comments on the manuscript. All experiments reported here comply with the laws of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, P.O. 550, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada

    E. C. A. De Silva & G. C. Cutler

  2. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service-Atlantic Forestry Centre, 1350 Regent Street, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5P7, Canada

    P. J. Silk & P. Mayo

  3. Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33, Westwood Ave., Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6, Canada

    N. K. Hillier

  4. Department of Chemistry, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    D. Magee

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  1. E. C. A. De Silva
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  2. P. J. Silk
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  3. P. Mayo
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  4. N. K. Hillier
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  5. D. Magee
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  6. G. C. Cutler
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Correspondence to G. C. Cutler.

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De Silva, E.C.A., Silk, P.J., Mayo, P. et al. Identification of Sex Pheromone Components of Blueberry Spanworm Itame argillacearia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). J Chem Ecol 39, 1169–1181 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-013-0337-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-013-0337-5

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