Behavior of the lesser grain borerRhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) : Male-produced aggregation pheromone attracts both sexes.

Adult males of the lesser grain borer,Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), produce a pheromone that attracts both sexes. The volatiles from males collected on filter paper or Porapak-Q were attractive in two laboratory bioassays. The mating behavior is described and the function of the phen infested with the borer.

Dominicalure 1 and 2: Components of aggregation pheromone from male lesser grain borerRhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae).

Volatiles from lesser grain borers,Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), were collected on Porapak Q, and those from the male beetles were shown to contain two compounds, that were attractive individually and in combination to both sexes. These compounds were identified as (S)-(+)-1-methylbutyl (E)-2-methyl-2-pentenoate and (S)-(+)-1-methylbutyl (E)-2,4-dimethyl-2-pentenoate by spectrometry and comparison with synthesized compounds. The two compounds have been assigned the trivial names dominicalure 1 and dominicalure 2, respectively. Synthesized samples of these compounds, individually and in combination, were effective in trapping both sexes in field studies.