Identification of Attractants from Three Host Plants and How to Improve Attractiveness of Plant Volatiles for Monochamus saltuarius .

As a new vector insect of pine wood nematodes in China, the Monochamus saltuarius (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) vectors pine wilt nematodes into healthy pine trees through feeding and oviposition, resulting in huge economic losses to forestry. A promising control strategy is to develop safe and efficient attractants. This study aims to screen for the key active volatiles of Pinus koraiensis (Pinales: Pinaceae), Pinus tabuliformis (Pinales: Pinaceae), and Picea asperata (Pinales: Pinaceae) that can attract M. saltuarius , and to study the synergistic attraction of the main attractant plant volatiles with ethanol and insect aggregation pheromones. The preference of M. saltuarius for three hosts is P. koraiensis > P. tabuliformis > Picea asperata . We detected 18 organic volatiles from three host plants. Through EAG assays and indoor Y-tube behavioral experiments, 3-carene, (-)-camphor, β-pinene, α-phellandrene, terpinolene, α-pinene, D-limonene, and myrcene were screened to have attractive effects on M. saltuarius . We found that 3-carene, β-pinene, and α-pinene are the most attractive kairomones in field experiments, which may play a crucial role in the host localization of M. saltuarius . Ethanol has a synergistic effect on the attractant activity of 3-carene and β-pinene, and the synergistic effect on β-pinene is the best. The mixture of ethanol, 2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol, and ipsdienol can significantly enhance the attraction effect of β-pinene on M. saltuarius . These new findings provide a theoretical basis for the development of attractants for adult M. saltuarius and contribute to the green control of M. saltuarius .