Elucidation of the role of volatile compounds in the chemical communication of the hop flea beetle Psylliodes attenuatus

The hop flea beetle Psylliodes attenuatus is an emerging pest in hop. In spring the overwintering adults can damage the leaves while in summer the next adult generation can cause severe damage on the cones resulting in a loss of yield. Currently, no biological management of this pest is available causing challenges particularly in organic hops. In this study we aimed to elucidate volatile organic compounds produced specifically by the beetles or by the host plants and may be exploited for trapping beetles in the field. Analyses of the headspace of infested hop resulted in a number of candidate volatile compounds that might be produced by the beetles. Some of these candidate compounds are biochemically related to male specific aggregation pheromones of other flea beetle species.
Key words. Pheromone, kairomone, headspace analysis, gas chromatography