A semiochemical view of the ecology of the seed beetle Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae)

Abstract

The dried bean beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus, is an economically important pest of stored legumes worldwide. Tracking the human‐aided dispersion of its primary hosts, the Phaseolus vulgaris beans, it is now widespread in most bean‐growing areas of the tropics and subtropics. In temperate regions where it can only occasionally overwinter in the field, A. obtectus proliferates in granaries, having multiple generations a year. Despite its negative impact on food production, no sensitive detection or monitoring tools exist, and the reduction of local populations still relies primarily on inorganic insecticides as fumigating agents. However, in the quest to produce more nutritious food more sustainably and healthily, the development of environmentally benign crop protection methods is vital against A. obtectus. For this, knowledge of the biology and chemistry of both the host plant and its herbivore will underpin the development of, among others, chemical ecology‐based approaches to form an essential part of the toolkit of integrated bruchid management. We review the semiochemistry of the mate‐ and host‐finding behaviour of A. obtectus and provide new information about the effect of seed chemistry on the sensory and behavioural ecology of host acceptance and larval development.