Response of Epitragus sallaei (Champion) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) to the odor of Mangifera indica flowers.
Cruz-López L., Jiménez-Zuñiga J. A., Santiésteban-Hernández A., Virgén-Sánchez A.
Author Affiliation: Grupo de Ecología Química, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto Km. 2.5, Tapachula, Chiapas, CP 30700, AP 36, Mexico.
Southwestern Entomologist 26 : 165-170
Abstract : Field observations showed that mango (Mangifera indica cv. Ataulfo) flowers, collected from an orchard in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, attract a variety of insect species. These flowers are white in colour and emit a strong odour. Floral extracts and field-trapped volatiles of mango flowers were tested for their ability to attract E. sallaei, a beetle which feeds on the flowers. Analysis of volatile chemicals emmited from mango flowers yielded a mixture of fourteen terpenoid compounds. The most abundant compound was 3-carene, followed by ?-pinene and limonene. In two-choice olfactometer tests, both male and female E. sallaei were attracted to floral extract, to a synthetic formulation of six mango flower odour components, and to 3-carene alone. Insect response to ?-pinene, myrcene, limonene, ?-ocimene and terpinolene was poor. Based on these results, 3-carene appears to be the most important attractant for E. sallaei and may be useful in the manufacture of artificial lures in the field.