Increased Release of Host Volatiles from Feeding Scars: A Major Cause of Field Aggregation in the Pine Weevil Hylobius abietis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

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Abstract
Field tests were conducted with Hylobius abietis (L.) in Sweden during 1982 and 1983 to study how weevils feeding on host material affect attractivity of this host material to other H. abietis Pitfall traps baited with a combination of male or female weevils and cut stems of Scots pine caught more weevils of both sexes than pine alone. Weevils of either sex were not attractive in absence of host material. Attractivity of ground phloem containing weevil frass was not significantly different from that of ground phloem alone. In a laboratory test, feeding by weevils of either sex on pine about doubled the release of monoterpene hydrocarbons and ethanol compared with pine alone. Existence of an aggregation pheromone could not be confirmed. We suggest that weevil aggregations are formed in response to host volatiles and that weevil feeding increases amounts of these volatiles released.