Identification and synthesis of the male-produced sex pheromone of the soldier beetle chauliognathus fallax (Coleoptera: Cantharidae)

Abstract

Chauliognathus fallax Germar 1824 (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) occurs in North and South America and Australia. Gas chromatographic (GC) analyses of volatiles released by adults showed the presence of a male specific compound. GC coupled with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) showed that this compound is exclusively bioactive on female antennae, suggesting it to be a sex pheromone. GC coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GC-FTIR), as well as dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) derivatization and hydrogenation, suggested the target compound to be (Z)-tricos-11-ene. Unambiguous structural proof was achieved by independent synthesis, whereas the biological significance of the compound as a sex pheromone was confirmed by field bioassays.