The response of theCeutorhynchus assimilis antenna to volatiles in air entrainment-derived extracts of oilseed rape,Brassica napus, was studied using coupled gas chromatography (GC)-electroantennography (EAG) and coupled GC-single cell recording (SCR). By means of these techniques and coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 25 active compounds were identified, including isoprenoids and compounds derived from fatty acids and amino acids. Some of the latter, the isothiocyanates and goitrin, and probably indole and benzyl cyanide, are catabolites of glucosinolates. The electrophysiological activity of the identified compounds was confirmed by EAG using a physiologically discriminating dose, and by SCR studies. The importance of the combined use of the EAG and SCR techniques was demonstrated, since specific olfactory cells were located for five compounds that did not elicit significant EAG responses. The majority of the olfactory cells from which single cell recordings were obtained showed very high specificity, and in numerous recordings there were consistent pairings of specific cell types.

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The responses of the cabbage seed weevil, Ceutorhynchus assimilis Payk. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to volatiles from oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) were tested using a linear track olfactometer. Weevils were attracted towards the odour of rape during a short period before diapause and for most of their postdiapause life. Odours from both the flowering and green parts of the plant were attractive, but the odour of a non-host plant (Bell& perennis L.) was not. An entrainment extract of flowering rape volatiles in pentane was attractive, but significantly less so than the odour of flowering rape itself. Attraction was found to 3-butenyl and 4-pentenyl isothiocyanate (NCS), but not to 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanate. A mixture of the three NCSs was more attractive than the individual NCSs. However, the concentration required to produce a response was still relatively high. Isothiocyanates, along with other volatiles from rape, probably play a role in host plant recognition by the seed weevil.

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The cabbage seed weevil, Ceutorhynchus assimilis Payk. [syn. Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham)] (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a crucifer‐feeding insect, is a pest of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). It is known to be attracted by isothiocyanates, crucifer‐specific volatiles that are metabolites of the glucosinolates. The responses of this insect to other electrophysiologically‐active volatiles from rape were tested in a linear track olfactometer. Attraction was demonstrated to nitriles (phenylacetonitrile, 4‐pentenenitrile and 5‐hexenenitrile), which are also glucosinolate metabolites, and to volatiles emitted by a wider spectrum of plant families ((Z)‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol and methyl salicylate). Combination of an isothiocyanate mixture with phenylacetonitrile increased attraction, but there was no such increase when the isothiocyanate mixture was combined with methyl salicylate. A mixture of 23 volatiles, emulating an attractive air‐entrainment extract of oilseed rape, was not significantly attractive, although a high proportion of weevils (60%) turned towards it. The potential of these volatiles for inclusion into an isothiocyanate‐based monitoring system is discussed.