Insects 2013, 4(1), 31-54; doi:10.3390/insects4010031
Review

Chemical Ecology of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and Potential for Alternative Control Methods

Ludovic Sablon 1,* email, Joseph C. Dickens 2 email, Éric Haubruge 1 email and François J. Verheggen 1 email
1 Unité d'Entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium 2 Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Plant Sciences Institute, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 5 October 2012; in revised form: 8 November 2012 / Accepted: 20 November 2012 / Published: 20 December 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pest Control and Management)
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Abstract: The Colorado potato beetle (CPB) has been a major insect pest to potato farming for over 150 years and various control methods have been established to reduce its impact on potato fields. Crop rotation and pesticide use are currently the most widely used approaches, although alternative methods are being developed. Here we review the role of various volatile and nonvolatile chemicals involved in behavior changes of CPB that may have potential for their control. First, we describe all volatile and nonvolatile chemicals involved in host plant localization and acceptance by CPB beetles, including glycoalcaloids and host plant volatiles used as kairomones. In the second section, we present the chemical signals used by CPB in intraspecific communication, including sex and aggregation pheromones. Some of these chemicals are used by natural enemies of CPBs to locate their prey and are presented in the third section. The last section of this review is devoted a discussion of the potential of some natural chemicals in biological control of CPB and to approaches that already reached efficient field applications.
Keywords: integrated pest management; aggregation pheromone; antifeedant; attractant; host plant; semiochemical; cropping management

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Sablon, L.; Dickens, J.C.; Haubruge, É.; Verheggen, F.J. Chemical Ecology of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and Potential for Alternative Control Methods. Insects 2013, 4, 31-54.

AMA Style

Sablon L, Dickens JC, Haubruge É, Verheggen FJ. Chemical Ecology of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and Potential for Alternative Control Methods. Insects. 2013; 4(1):31-54.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sablon, Ludovic; Dickens, Joseph C.; Haubruge, Éric; Verheggen, François J. 2013. "Chemical Ecology of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and Potential for Alternative Control Methods." Insects 4, no. 1: 31-54.

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