Behavioral responses of potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella) to volatiles from wilted Yunnan poplar (Populus yunnanensis)

The volatiles from wilted poplar leaves possess a broad spectrum of attractants that affect various lepidopteran pests. The effect of volatile compounds of wilted leaves of Yunnan poplar, Populus yunnanensis Dode (Salicaceae), on the orientation and oviposition behavior of the potato tuber moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), has not been well understood. In this study we identified 15 active compounds from the wilted Yunnan poplar leaves to gravid female PTM by combined gas chromatography-electroantennographic detector (GC-EAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in this study. We evaluated the biological activity of these compounds at their natural level with a Y-tube olfactometer and self-made oviposition cages. The results showed that six compounds - cis-3-hexen-1-ol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, hexyl acetate, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde, trans-ocimene, and 2-pentylfuran - exhibited significant attraction to gravid female PTM, and five compounds - trans-2-nonenal, styrene, hexyl formate, trans-ocimene, and 2-pentylfuran - attracted them to lay eggs, both individually and in blend. Apart from styrene, all these compounds may serve as attractants for attract-and-kill to PTM.