Untitled ItemLonghorn beetles and predatory clerid beetles attracted to a blend of longhorn beetle pheromone compounds in a Central European oak forest (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Cleridae)

A blend of longhorn beetle pheromones was tested as a generic attractant for multiple longhorn beetle species in a Central European oak forest. Overall, 21 cerambycid species totalling 1,250 specimens were captured using two trap types. Panel traps captured more beetles than funnel traps. Significantly more adults of <em>Phymatodes testaceus</em> (L.) (Cerambycinae) and <em>Leiopus nebulosus</em> <em>nebulosus </em>(L.) (Lamiinae) were caught in baited traps compared to controls. Significant numbers of four other species were caught in panel traps but not funnel traps. For the cerambycine <em>Pyrrhidium sanguineum </em>(L.), significantly more beetles were caught in treatment traps than controls. For the cerambycine <em>Anaglyptus mysticus </em>(L.), and lepturines <em>Cortodera humeralis </em>(Schaller) and <em>Rhagium sycophanta </em>(Schrank), the numbers of beetles caught in treatment or control traps were similar, indicating no attraction to the lure blend. Adults of a predatory clerid beetle <em>Clerus mutillarius</em> F. were caught in significantly larger numbers by both baited trap types in comparison to controls, totalling 1,514 specimens. Antennae of both sexes of <em>C. mutillarius</em> showed significant responses to 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and 2-methylbutan-1-ol compared to solvent controls, and antennae from males also responded significantly to <em>syn</em>-2,3-hexanediol. Strong attraction of <em>C. mutillarius</em> suggests eavesdropping on the pheromones of cerambycids and that such attractant baits, without traps, might be used to manipulate the local population density of predators in a push-pull biological control program targeting wood-boring insects.