Attractant semiochemicals of the engraver beetle, Ips perturbatus, in south-central and interior Alaska

From 1996 through 1999, field tests of various engraver beetle (Ips perturb atus (Eichhoff)) semiochemicals in funnel traps were conducted in south-cen tral and interior Alaska in stands of Lutz (Picea infinity lutzii Little) a nd white spruce (P. glauca (Moench) Voss). The European spruce beetle (I. t ypographus (L.)) is believed to be taxonomically similar to I. perturbatus. Commercially available European spruce beetle lures, which include 2-methy l-3-buten-2-ol, however, were no more attractive to I. perturbatus than the combination of racemic ipsdienol and 83%-(+)-cis-verbenol. The addition of >97%-(-)-ipsenol to ipsdienol and cis-verbenol, however, was more attracti ve than the binary combination alone. Racemic ipsenol dispersed from bubble caps did not prevent I. perturbatus from colonizing fresh logging debris. Thus ipsenol was found to function as an attractant rather than as an antia ggregant as previously shown.