Attraction of Lygus rugulipennis and Adelphocoris lineolatus to synthetic floral odour compounds in field experiments in Hungary (Heteroptera: Miridae)

Field experiments were carried out to ascertain whether synthetic floral odour compounds were attractive for two pest bug species. The European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis Poppius) has been reported to damage various crops (e.g. strawberry, sugarbeet, alfalfa, cucumber), and the alfalfa plant bug (Adelphocoris lineolatus (Goeze)) is considered as a pest of alfalfa and Bt-cotton. In our field tests, traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde caught significantly more L. rugulipennis than unbaited traps. In addition, A. lineolatus was also attracted to phenylacetaldehyde-baited traps. When testing other, EAG active compounds, (E)-cinnamaldehyde attracted A. lineolatus as well. This compound was also attractive for L. rugulipennis, however, to a lesser extent than phenylacetaldehyde. When the two compounds were presented in combination, no synergistic or inhibitory effect was detected in either species. By attracting both sexes of both species, these new attractants may prove to be useful and provide the basis for further development of new lures for agricultural use

Microlepidoptera caught in traps baited with lures containing pear ester and acetic acid in Hungary

The present research was undertaken to screen for field activity of ethyl-(E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate (pear ester, PE), acetic acid (AA) and the blend of this two components (PEAA) at locations, where high diversity of microlepidopteran species was presumed. By tendency of relative catches, microlepidopterans captured could be divided into two groups: in the first group the PEAA blend resulted in higher catches than single components (Hedya nubiferana, Ypsolopha scabrella and Notocelia trimaculana), while in the second group (Archips rosana, A. xylosteana, Ptycholoma lecheana and Tortrix viridana) only the presence of AA was responsible for attractivity. In all species, both male and female specimens were caught. This result indicates a potential way to optimise female-targeted lures based on PEAA or AA for all these microlepidopterans that are all recorded as pests. On the other hand, the capture of the above moths in the traps raises the need for some taxonomic knowledge in evaluating captures in PEAA-baited traps currently use in agricultural practice for codling moth monitoring

An improved female-targeted semiochemical lure for the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.

The addition of synthetic 4-methoxy-2-phenethyl alcohol to the known attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized attraction of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis, the blend invariably catching 3 to 5 times more than phenylacetaldehyde on its own. Highest catches were recorded by the 1:1 blend. Both females and males were attracted, supposedly in the natural sex ratio of the local population. This improved bisex O. nubilalis attractant could be more efficient and more suitable for detection and monitoring purposes than previously know lures, making possible to draw more reliable plant protection decisions

Responses of Pseudovadonia livida adults to olfactory and visual cues

Pseudovadonia livida (F.) (Coleoptera Cerambycidae Lepturinae) is a widely distributed and common species across Europe. This study was undertaken to investigate some aspects of the sensory and behavioural ecology of P. livida adults in relation to flowering plants they visit. First, their electroantennogram (EAG) responses to 42 synthetic plant volatile compounds were recorded.The antennae gave the strongest EAG responses to methyl anthranilate, methyl salicylate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol. In a field trapping experiment, P. livida beetles preferred fluorescent yellow and yellow traps over white, blue and transparent traps. When we compared different chemical lures, loaded with EAG-active compounds and their blends, in fluorescent yellow traps, we found that the beetles responded stronger to the two-component blend of methyl anthranilate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol than to other lures tested. In a subsequent experiment testing different ratios of these two compounds, the highest number of P. livida adults was recorded in traps baited with a ratio of 1:1 (100 mg of each compound) of methyl anthranilate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol, followed by traps with the 10:1 ratio. Thus, 1:1 and 10:1 blends of methyl anthranilate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol in fluorescent yellow traps are suitable for detection and monitoring of P. livida

Responses of Pseudovadonia livida adults to olfactory and visual cues

Pseudovadonia livida (F.) (Coleoptera Cerambycidae Lepturinae) is a widely distributed and common species across Europe. This study was undertaken to investigate some aspects of the sensory and behavioural ecology of P. livida adults in relation to flowering plants they visit. First, their electroantennogram (EAG) responses to 42 synthetic plant volatile compounds were recorded.The antennae gave the strongest EAG responses to methyl anthranilate, methyl salicylate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol. In a field trapping experiment, P. livida beetles preferred fluorescent yellow and yellow traps over white, blue and transparent traps. When we compared different chemical lures, loaded with EAG-active compounds and their blends, in fluorescent yellow traps, we found that the beetles responded stronger to the two-component blend of methyl anthranilate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol than to other lures tested. In a subsequent experiment testing different ratios of these two compounds, the highest number of P. livida adults was recorded in traps baited with a ratio of 1:1 (100 mg of each compound) of methyl anthranilate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol, followed by traps with the 10:1 ratio. Thus, 1:1 and 10:1 blends of methyl anthranilate and 2-phenylethyl alcohol in fluorescent yellow traps are suitable for detection and monitoring of P. livida

Software for the frontiers of quantum chemistry:An overview of developments in the Q-Chem 5 package

This article summarizes technical advances contained in the fifth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program package, covering developments since 2015. A comprehensive library of exchange–correlation functionals, along with a suite of correlated many-body methods, continues to be a hallmark of the Q-Chem software. The many-body methods include novel variants of both coupled-cluster and configuration-interaction approaches along with methods based on the algebraic diagrammatic construction and variational reduced density-matrix methods. Methods highlighted in Q-Chem 5 include a suite of tools for modeling core-level spectroscopy, methods for describing metastable resonances, methods for computing vibronic spectra, the nuclear–electronic orbital method, and several different energy decomposition analysis techniques. High-performance capabilities including multithreaded parallelism and support for calculations on graphics processing units are described. Q-Chem boasts a community of well over 100 active academic developers, and the continuing evolution of the software is supported by an “open teamware” model and an increasingly modular design