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Ubiquitous volatile compound facilitates efficient host location by a non-native ambrosia beetle

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Abstract

Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford), a species native to Asia but currently invading North American and European forests, exploits living, but weakened trees. In response to many sources of stress, trees emit ethanol, which represents an important host-location cue for X. germanus. Because stressed trees can be spatially and temporally variable over a landscape, we assessed the role of olfaction in aiding X. germanus to efficiently locate vulnerable trees during natural dispersal. We conducted a series of experiments and observed that attacks occurred on trees baited with ethanol, but immediately ceased upon removal of the ethanol cue. X. germanus also efficiently located and attacked ethanol-injected trees, but rarely landed on adjacent trees not emitting ethanol, and never attacked these neighboring trees. A spatial analysis of trees attacked by ambrosia beetles within diverse landscapes revealed that only certain host species or cultivars, and only certain individuals within these host species or cultivars, were attacked; ethanol was also detected in the attacked trees, but not in non-attacked trees. Thus, X. germanus uses an efficient olfactory mechanism while orienting among perceived non-hosts to specifically locate trees associated with ethanol. Combined with other attributes, we propose that the remarkable efficiency by which this non-native ambrosia beetle uses volatile cues to locate specific vulnerable hosts across a diverse landscape aids its successful establishment and population spread.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by funding from the USDA Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative and base funds associated with ARS Research Project 3607-22000-012-00D (National Program 304-Crop Protection and Quarantine). We thank James Moyseenko, Jennifer Barnett, Betsy Anderson, and Leslie Morris for technical assistance. We also thank anonymous reviewers for useful comments. Mention of proprietary products or companies does not imply any endorsement or preferential treatment by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, USDA-Forest Service, or The Ohio State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horticultural Insects Research Lab, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH, 44691, USA

    Christopher M. Ranger & Michael E. Reding

  2. Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH, 44691, USA

    Christopher M. Ranger & Michael E. Reding

  3. Northern Research Station, USDA-Forest Service, 180 Canfield Street, Morgantown, WV, 26505, USA

    Patrick C. Tobin

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  1. Christopher M. Ranger
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Correspondence to Christopher M. Ranger.

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Ranger, C.M., Tobin, P.C. & Reding, M.E. Ubiquitous volatile compound facilitates efficient host location by a non-native ambrosia beetle. Biol Invasions 17, 675–686 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0758-2

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