Hexanal combined with decanal mediate host location by the bamboo powderpost beetle, Dinoderus minutus

The bamboo powderpost beetle, Dinoderus minutus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), is the major post-harvest pest of several bamboo species worldwide. Conspecific adults colonize injured bamboo stems, primarily those with low moisture content. Here, the volatiles from dry cut stems of Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C. Wendt (Poaceae) were identified and field-tested for attraction of adults of D. minutus. Analyses of headspace volatile extracts from these stems revealed 22 compounds, of which hexanal was the most abundant, followed by heptanal, octanal, nonanal, decanal, and 2-pentylfuran. Together, these six compounds comprised >94% of the total abundance of airborne volatiles from dry cut bamboo stems. The biological activity of these compounds was tested in three consecutive field-trapping trials in Brazil. Broadly speaking, the binary blend of hexanal and decanal was the optimal attractant for both male and female D. minutus adults, whereas hexanal alone was not attractive and the presence of heptanal, octanal, nonanal, and 2-pentylfuran in some tested blends proved to be redundant or disruptive in attracting conspecific beetles. Traps baited with hexanal and decanal could be used for surveillance and monitoring of D. minutus at countries' points-of-entry and for integrated pest management (IPM) at storage facilities of post-harvest bamboo stems and related products.