
Lure of Sex May Confuse a WeevilBy Jan Suszkiw December 27, 1996Romance could turn deadly for
amorous pecan weevils. Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service and
Oklahoma State University have--for the
first time--identified the weevils chemical sex attractant, or pheromone.
This could lead to a commercial pheromone that pecan growers would deploy to
monitor weevil populations or to disrupt weevil mating. Prospective mates
either couldnt find each other or would be lured to doom in traps. In lab
and field studies, a synthetic version of the male weevils pheromone
attracted 80 percent of females. Chemical insecticide sprays are now the main recourse for protecting pecan
orchards. Unchecked, the weevils chew on young pecan nuts, ruining their
marketability. In late summer, female weevils bore into nuts to lay eggs. Soon,
larvae hatch, drop to the ground and burrow into the soil. Two to three years
later they emerge as adults, feed and mate. University scientists are awaiting results of large-scale field tests of the
synthetic attractant in orchards this past summer. ARS is considering patenting the use of the weevil pheromone. Scientific contact: Paul Hedin, USDA-ARS,
Crop Science Research
Laboratory, Mississippi State, Miss., (601) 323-2230. Story contacts Jan R Suszkiw U.S. Department of Agriculture | |