No abstract

A sex pheromone component of the Japanese mealybug, Planococcus kraunhiae, was isolated and identified. A crude extract of the pheromone obtained by airborne collection was first fractionated with Florisil column chromatography. The activity of each fractionated sample was examined in Petri dishes. The active fraction was further purified by HPLC and an active component was isolated by preparative GC. The purified compound showed attraction activity to adult males of P. kraunhiae in the field. The chemical structure was determined to be 2-isopropyliden-5-methyl-4-hexen-1-yl butyrate by GC-MS and NMR analyses.

The pathogenicity of 25 isolates of entomogenous fungi to the Brown-Winged Green bug, Plautia stali, was investigated. Eight isolates of Beauveria bassiana obtained from P. stali and 5 isolates of B. bassiana obtained from other insects showed pathogenicity. However,

Studies on biological control ontrol of the white spotted longicorn beetle, Anoplophora malasiaca, by an entomogenous fungus, Beauveria brongniartii. N . Field evaluation of hanging polyurethane foam sheet containing B. brongniartii conidia, on citrus trees for the control of adult beetle.

In this study, we discovered and isolated an attractant for a mealybug-parasitic wasp Anagyrus sawadai from an esterification product prepared with commercialized lavandulol (2-isopropenyl-5-methyl-4-hexen-1-ol) and butyryl chloride. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we determined the structure of the compound to be (2,4,4-trimethyl-2-cyclohexenyl)methyl butyrate (cyclolavandulyl butyrate). This is a novel compound as far as we know, although the alcohol moiety has been known as a cyclization product from lavandulol. Cyclolavandulyl butyrate has two enantiomers, and the (-)-isomer, which is suggested to have S configuration, showed higher attractiveness. A potential use for the A. sawadai attractant for mealybug management in agricultural fields is discussed.

The brown winged green bug, Plautia crossota stali Scott (PCS), is a serious pest in major fruits orchards in Japan. To test the feasibility of controlling PCS with an entomopathogenic fungus, in 2000 and 2001, we set up 29 and 20 inoculum stations, respectively, in an 650-ha pilot area. The average mortality rates of PSC collected from 5 pheromone traps in the area were 28% and 35% in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Broad-leaved trees were used for the inoculum stations. Five or 10 lures containing synthesized aggregation pheromone and 20 non-woven fabric sheets containing the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana E-9102 were attached to each tree. Both males and females of PCS were attracted to the station and were infected with conidia dispersed from the sheets. The average mortality rates of PCS adults collected from the inoculum stations were consistently between 75% and 70% in 2000 and 2001, respectively, until about 30 days after the inoculum station was installed. It has been suggested that the stink bug trap consists of aggregation pheromone and B. bassiana E-9102 seems promising for the control of PCS in Japan.

Transmission of an entomogenous fungus, Beauveria brongniartii, by mating behavior was examined by allowing inoculated Psacothea hilaris adults to mate with non-inoculated ones. There was a significant difference in transmission ability between inoculated males and females. Inoculated adults could transmit the fungus to non-inoculated ones for five successive days, mating once each day after inoculation. The transmission percentage was 100% for adults 2h after inoculation but decreased to 40%-60% 5 days after inoculation.

No abstract