Communication disruption of guava moth (Coscinoptycha improbana) using a pheromone analog based on chain length.

The guava moth, Coscinoptycha improbana, an Australian species that infests fruit crops in commercial and home orchards, was first detected in New Zealand in 1997. A four-component pheromone blend was identified but is not yet commercially available. Using single sensillum recordings from male antennae, we established that the same olfactory receptor neurons responded to two guava moth sex pheromone components, (Z)-11-octadecen-8-one and (Z)-12-nonadecen-9-one, and to a chain length analog, (Z)-13-eicosen-10-one, the sex pheromone of the related peach fruit moth, Carposina sasakii. We then field tested whether this non-specificity of the olfactory neurons might enable disruption of sexual communication by the commercially available analog, using male catch to synthetic lures in traps in single-tree, nine-tree and 2-ha plots. A disruptive pheromone analog, based on chain length, is reported for the first time. Trap catches for guava moth were disrupted by three polyethylene tubing dispensers releasing the analog in single-tree plots (86% disruption of control catches) and in a plots of nine trees (99% disruption). Where peach fruit moth pheromone dispensers were deployed at a density of 1000/ha in two 2-ha areas, pheromone traps for guava moth were completely disrupted for an extended period (up to 470 days in peri-urban gardens in Mangonui and 422 days in macadamia nut orchards in Kerikeri). In contrast, traps in untreated areas over 100 m away caught 302.8 ± 128.1 moths/trap in Mangonui and 327.5 ± 78.5 moths/ trap in Kerikeri. The longer chain length in the pheromone analog has greater longevity than the natural pheromone due to its lower volatility. Chain length analogs may warrant further investigation for mating disruption in Lepidoptera, and screening using single-sensillum recording is recommended.

(Z)-7-tricosene and monounsaturated ketones as sex pheromone components of the Australian guava moth Coscinoptycha improbana: identification, field trapping, and phenology.

Pheromone gland extracts of the Australian guava moth Coscinoptycha improbana (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae), contained four compounds that elicited responses from male moth antennae in gas chromatography-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) analyses. These were identified by GC-mass spectrometry as (Z)-7-tricosene (Z7-23Hy), (Z)-7-octadecen-11-one (Z7-11-one-18Hy), (Z)-7-nonadecen-11-one (Z7-11-one-19Hy), and (Z)-7-tricosen-11-one (Z7-11-one-23Hy) at a ratio of 65:23.5:1.5:10, respectively. Z7-23Hy, Z7-11-one-18Hy, and Z7-11-one-23Hy have not previously been reported as lepidopteran sex pheromone components. Z7-11-one-18Hy was active as a single component, and was synergized by Z7-11-one-23Hy but not Z7-11-one-19Hy, although the latter compound was weakly attractive as a single component. Addition of Z7-23Hy further increased attraction. The amount of the major pheromone component, Z7-11-one-18Hy in female pheromone gland extracts was estimated to be 16.4 ng/female (N = 8). Phenological data gathered over a 12-mo period in 2002 and 2003 using the binary blend indicated that moths are active throughout the year. The pheromone has already been employed to monitor the spread of C. improbana in New Zealand and detect its presence in Queensland, Australia.

A survey of wasp sting injuries in urban Auckland from December to April in 1991/2 and 1992/3.

AIM: To determine the numbers and the seasonal variations in patients seeking medical consultation for wasp sting injuries in urban Auckland. METHOD: A monthly record of the number of people seeking treatment for wasp stings was kept by 50 general practitioners from 18 medical centres and accident and emergency departments from three hospitals in urban Auckland. RESULTS: From December to April, 47 people in 1991/2 and 49 in 1992/3 received treatment for wasp sting injuries from the family practitioners surveyed. In addition, 27 people and 35 people received treatment at the three accident and emergency clinics over the same time period in 1991/2 and 1992/3 respectively. Paper wasps were found to be responsible for the majority of the sting injuries reported. CONCLUSION: Our data indicates that wasp stings have a significant impact on the health of the Auckland population and indicates the urgent need for more detailed studies in other parts of New Zealand.

Habitat preferences and carcase colonization by sheep blowflies in the northern North Island of New Zealand.

In urban Auckland, from September 1991 to May 1992, only six specimens of the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, were collected in farmed parkland and in garden habitats. The common green blowfly, Lucilia sericata, was the most common calliphorid trapped in these habitats. Neither of the two Lucilia species were found in native bush remnants in urban or rural areas where Calliphora hilli was dominant. Similarly very few L.cuprina (0.3% of the total) were trapped in rural rubbish tips in January and February where the majority of blowflies were again L.sericata. These results are compared with data collected from pastoral habitats, where L.cuprina is the major cause of flystrike. Lucilia cuprina was reared from five out of ninety-nine carcases found in rural areas. Calliphora stygia and L.sericata were the most common blowflies colonizing carrion and were reared from 59% and 51% of the carcases respectively.

Effect of fungal metabolite peramine and analogs on feeding and development of argentine stem weevil (Listronotus bonariensis).

Peramine, a pyrrolopyrazine alkaloid produced by the fungal endophyte of perennial ryegrassAcremonium lolii, deterred the feeding of both adults and larvae of the graminacious herbivore, the Argentine stem weevil (Listronotus bonariensis), at 0.1 µg/g and 10 µg/g, respectively. In a no-choice test fewer stem weevil larvae fed and developed on diet containing as little as 2 µg/g peramine. The proportion of larvae which did not develop beyond the first instar was higher on diet containing peramine and appeared to be due to a higher proportion of larvae which did not feed. For larvae which fed on the peramine-containing diet, feeding scores and times to pupation were not significantly different from those of controls. A number of simple peramine analogues showed feeding-deterrent activity against adult weevils, indicating the importance of the pyrrolopyrazine ring system of peramine in determining feeding-deterrent activity.