New sex attractant composition for the click beetle Agriotes proximus:: Similarity to the pheromone of Agriotes lineatus

While testing traps baited with a blend of geranyl octanoate and geranyl butanoate (pheromone components previously identified for Agriotes lineatus, Coleoptera, Elateridae) in Portugal and Bulgaria, large numbers of the closely related Agriotes proximus were captured. In the literature, two different compounds, (E,E)-farnesyl acetate and neryl isovalerate had previously been identified as pheromone components of A. proximus. Subsequent field tests, conducted in several European countries, revealed that A. proximus was weakly attracted to geranyl butanoate on its own, while A. lineatus was weakly attracted to geranyl octanoate on its own. However, the largest catches for both species were observed with a blend of both compounds. No A. proximus was caught in traps baited with the blend of (E,E)-farnesyl acetate and neryl isovalerate at any of the test sites. In electroantennographic studies, antennae of male A. proximus and A. lineatus both gave greater responses to geranyl butanoate than to geranyl octanoate, suggesting that the perception of these two compounds was similar for both species. A 1:1 blend of geranyl octanoate and geranyl butanoate can be used as a bait in traps for the detection and monitoring of both A. lineatus and A. proximus in many European countries.