Food attractant from mulberry leaf tea and its main volatile compounds for the biocontrol of Lasioderma serricorne F. (Coleoptera: Anobiidae)

The effectiveness in exploiting a kairomone lure combined with a pheromone lure for Lasioderma serricorne has been found to vary in different countries. This study aimed to determine the attractive activity of 30 different food-host materials against L. serricorne in Thailand to identify effective food attractants for potential use as a kairomone lure. Mulberry leaf tea was the strongest attractant of the tested materials. Headspace-solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis of the volatile constituents of mulberry leaves revealed 13 distinct principal compounds, of which five (38%) were ketones. Phytol, β-ionone and methyl palmitate were the main volatile constituents. β-Ionone exhibited the highest attractant activity to L. serricorne, with a 64.4% response index at 0.1 mg/vial and tended to have a high attractant level at decreasing dose down to 1.0 μg/vial while phytol, the major component, showed the highest attractant activity (61.1% RI) only at 1.0 mg/vial. Thus, β-ionone might be a promising candidate for a kairomone lure in the population control of L. serricorne in product stores.