| Abstrakt: |
The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is the most common coleopteran pest that infests different kinds of stored grains and flours. Under natural conditions, T. castaneum adults secrete benzoquinones as cuticular semiochemicals for aggregation and defensive purposes. In this study, we have examined the physico-chemical effects on the secretion of cuticular semiochemicals in T. castaneum. Adult beetles were exposed to different food flours, starvation, cold, heat and chemical treatments. After 24 h of exposures, cuticular surface chemicals were extracted and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC–FID) techniques. Totally, 14 compounds were identified as cuticular surface chemicals from the body surface of beetles. When exposed to different food flours (chickpea, green gram, rice and wheat), there were no remarkable variations in the secretion of cuticular surface chemicals. Whereas under starvation, cold, heat and chemical stress conditions, remarkable variations (significantly at P ≤ 0.05) were observed in 2-methyl-p-benzoquinone, 2-ethyl-p-benzoquinone and 1-pentadecene secretions. Remarkably, maximum 99.30, 98.79 and 77.41% reductions were observed in 2-methyl-p-benzoquinone, 2-ethyl-p-benzoquinone and 1-pentadecene secretions due to the effect of diallyl disulfide chemical stress, respectively, with the significance of P ≤ 0.05. In conclusion, it was predicted that starvation, cold, heat and chemical stress conditions alter 2-methyl-p-benzoquinone, 2-ethyl-p-benzoquinone and 1-pentadecene secretions in T. castaneum adults rather than food flours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
