BIOACTIVITY AND EFFICACY OF MCOL AND SEUDENOL AS POTENTIAL ATTRACTIVE BAIT COMPONENTS FOR DENDROCTONUS RUFIPENNIS(COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE)

AbstractIn randomized complete block experiments using multiple-funnel traps frontalin was only moderately attractive to spruce beetles, Dendroctonus rufipennisKirby, in northern British Columbia. MCOL (1-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol) of any enantiomeric composition significantly enhanced the attraction of both sexes (up to 3.4 and 4.2 times for females and males, respectively) to traps baited with frontalin. The lack of an enantiospecific preference for MCOL aligns beetles in northern British Columbia with those in southeastern British Columbia and northern Alberta, but not with enantiospecific populations in southern British Columbia and Alaska. In tree baits, neither MCOL nor seudenol (3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-ol) enhanced the efficacy of frontalin. The power of frontalin alone at a release rate of 1.2 mg per 24 h (half the rate in commercial baits) indicates that the currently used operational tree baits could be modified by lowering the dose and eliminating a-pinene.