Beta-ionone increases catches of Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) in traps baited with sex pheromone

The cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), is an important stored product pest increasingly impacting museums and herbaria. Monitoring methods make use of pheromone traps which can be implemented using chili fruit powder as food attractant. Further laboratory studies evidenced that the main cues involved in this attraction are the terpenoids alpha-ionone and beta-ionone. In this study a trap bioassay was carried out in a bread plant with pheromone traps added with alpha-ionone or beta-ionone at different doses to evaluate the possible enhance of captures determined by such odorants in comparison with traps loaded with the synthetic pheromone alone. Furthermore, in order to optimize the type of device used, the chemical that elicited the highest performance was tested using two types of dispenser: a polyethylene and a silicone one. The results indicated that pheromone traps with the addition of beta-ionone at the dose of 10 mg captured the highest amount of L. serricorne adults and significantly more than traps loaded with pheromone alone or with pheromone plus alpha-ionone. Differently, captures of pheromone traps supplemented with alpha-ionone didn't differ statistically from those baited solely with the synthetic pheromone. Moreover, the traps baited with beta-ionone loaded in polyethylene dispenser allowed a higher number of catches of the adults of the beetle in comparison with those obtained using silicone dispenser. Data indicate that this co-attractant can be exploited to increase sensitivity for monitoring, and/or for mass trapping L. serricorne adults.