AGGREGATION PHEROMONE OF CARPOPHILUS-DIMIDIATUS (F) (COLEOPTERA, NITIDULIDAE) AND RESPONSES TO CARPOPHILUS PHEROMONES IN SOUTH-CAROLINA

The major component of the male-produced aggregation pheromone of Carp ophilus dimidiatus (F.) is (3E, 5E, 7E, 9E)-6,8-diethyl-4-methyl-3,5,7 ,9- dodecatetraene. It attracts beetles of both sexes in the held and is synergized by odors from fermenting bread dough; mean trap catches for the tetraene alone, tetraene plus dough. dough alone, and control were 24.5, 48.3, 0.02, and 0.00, respectively. in the laboratory, indi vidual males produced 0.58 mu g +/- 0.35 mu g (SD) of the tetraene per day, but males in groups of 10-50 produced < 2% as much per beetle. A second male-specific compound, (3E, 5E, 7E, 9E)-5,7-diethyl-9-methyl- 3,5,7,9-trideca was also identified from C. dimidiatus and is about 5% as abundant as the major pheromone component. Carpophilus flight acti vity was monitored for one year in South Carolina corn fields with the pheromones for C. dimidiatus. C. freemani Dobson, C, mutilatus Erichs on, C. hemipterus (L.), C. lugubris Murray, and C. obsoletus Erichson, all in combination with bread dough. The first four of these species accounted for 18, 70, 5.7, and 0.03%, respectively, of the total Carpo philus trapped, but no C. lugubris or C. obsoletus were captured. Capt ures of C. freemani were as high as 11,400/trap/week. Species specific ity for the first four pheromones was high, except that a synthetic im purity in the C. dimidiatus pheromone was somewhat attractive to C. fr eemani and C. mutilatus. Three other species captured, C. antiquus Mel sheimer, C. marginellus Motschulsky, and C, humeralis (F.), accounted for 0.005, 5.0, and 1.3% of the total catch, respectively. C. antiques was attracted primarily to the pheromone of C. dimidiatus, but C, mar ginellus and C. humeralis responded to most of the test pheromones. Th ere were two major periods of Carpophilus Right activity: February thr ough June and September through November.