Profiling and characterization of volatile secretions from the European stink bug Graphosoma lineatum (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) by two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry

An efficient method combining the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) sampling procedure and comprehensive two-dimensional gas-chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/TOF-MS) was established to study the volatile secretion components of stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). The combined power of this approach is illustrated by the identification of fifty-seven compounds in the secretion of a European stink-bug representative, Graphosoma lineatum. (E)-4-oxohex-2-enal and (E)-dec-2-enal were found to be the major components in the adult bug secretions followed by lower amounts of n-alkenal (C5–C12), n-alkenyl acetate (C5–C11), n-alkane (C11–C17) homologs, dienals and other compounds. More than thirty known compounds have been identified that had not been described before in G. lineatum adults. Of these compounds, (E)-4-oxohex-2-enal is of particular interest, since its isolation and identification, while calling some previous reports into question, clearly demonstrates a potential ability of our approach to yield artifact-free secretion profiles.

► Analysis of volatile secretions from the European stink bug Graphosoma lineatum.
► Analysis using HS-SPME coupled to GC × GC/TOF-MS.
► Identification of 57 compounds, 39 of these are reported for the first time.
► No differences in the composition of the secretions between sexes were found.