Methods for controlling long-horned beetles

Abstract

To provide means for controlling Cerambycidae insects that are harmful insects such as Anoplophora malasiaca.SOLUTION: The present invention pertains to a method for controlling a female of a Cerambycidae insect, including the step of installing an instrument having a member to which contact pheromone for an adult female of the Cerambycidae insect is attached and a member to which an insect pathogen is attached at a place to be controlled.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a novel method for controlling female longhorn beetles such as the Asian longhorn beetle. [Background technology]

[0002] The spotted longhorn beetle is known as a difficult-to-control pest of fruit trees, causing serious damage in citrus orchards that are not well maintained due to the aging of producers. It is difficult to say that a method for controlling the spotted longhorn beetle has been established at this time. For more than 20 years, the present inventors have been conducting research to find an effective method of controlling this pest by clarifying its chemical communication. Last year, they succeeded in identifying the contact pheromones of adult females (Non-Patent Document 1), and further found that female extracts containing these contact pheromones have high fixing activity against males.

[0003] At present, the only microbial pesticide registered for use against the Japanese longhorn beetle is the insect pathogenic fungus "Biolisporum". TM "Longhorn Beetle Slim" is sold by Idemitsu Agri Co., Ltd.

[0004] Long-horned beetles of the Anoplophora genus, including the Spotted Longhorn Beetle, are known worldwide as invasive alien species. They have invaded North America and Europe from their native China via potted plants, causing problems. Due to taxonomic confusion, the Japanese Spotted Longhorn Beetle is considered to be the same species as A. chinensis, which is distributed in China, and this has caused inconveniences such as restrictions on the export of bonsai trees. Since there is no established method of controlling Spotted Longhorn Beetles worldwide, infested trees are identified and surrounding trees are thoroughly cut down. Therefore, there is a high need for a method of controlling Spotted Longhorn Beetles, including this species. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] Nao Tsujii, Takue Yasui, Tetsuya Yasuda, Sadao Wakamura, Junji Akino, Midori Fukaya, Toshio Suzuki, Takashi Hoshi, Hisahiro Hagiwara, and Yuji Ono, "Male Asian long-horned beetles show mating behavior toward a synthetic mixture that reproduces the sex pheromone composition of female body surface," National Agriculture Research Center Research Results Information, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2019,<http: / / www.naro.affrc.go.jp / project / results / 4th_laboratory / carc / 2019 / carc19_s20.html> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] There was no technology to keep the Asian long-horned beetle in a certain place for a long time. TM "Longhorn Beetle Slim" is a nonwoven fabric about 2cm wide and 50cm long with fungal conidia attached, and when the spotted longhorn beetle walks on the fabric, the conidia attach to its body surface, and it is said that the beetle dies 1-2 weeks after infection. It is wrapped around the branching part of the main trunk close to the ground, based on the observation that females often walk around this area when they are laying eggs near the ground.

[0007] Biolisa TM Kamikiri Slim only becomes effective when the Asian longhorn beetle "walks" on the product. The current design, which is based on this accidental event, has been effective to a certain extent and has been registered as a pesticide, but there is a problem in that it lacks certainty.

[0008] Under these circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a novel means for controlling pest insects of the family Cerambycidae, such as the Oriental longhorn beetle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] As a result of intensive research to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that by installing an apparatus comprising a member to which the contact pheromone of adult female Asian longhorn beetles is attached and a member to which entomopathogenic bacteria is attached in a location to be controlled, a large amount of entomopathogenic bacteria can be attached to the body surface of male Asian longhorn beetles. The present inventors have also found that the entomopathogenic bacteria attached to the body surface of male Asian longhorn beetles is transmitted to females through the male's mating behavior with females, and thus not only male Asian longhorn beetles but also females can be controlled. The present invention has been completed based on these findings.

[0010] That is, the present invention provides the following (1) to (5). (1) A method for controlling female longhorn beetles, comprising the steps of: placing an apparatus comprising a member having a contact pheromone of an adult female longhorn beetle attached thereto and a member having an entomopathogenic fungus attached thereto, in a location to be controlled.

[0011] (2) The method according to (1), wherein the insect of the family Cerambycidae is an insect of the subfamily Myrtinae.

[0012] (3) The method according to (1), wherein the insect of the family Cerambycidae is a long-horned beetle.

[0013] (4) The method according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the insect pathogenic fungus is an insect pathogenic filamentous fungus.

[0014] (5) The method according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the insect pathogen is Beauveria brongniartii. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The present invention provides a novel method for controlling female longhorn beetles. The control method of the present invention can control not only male but also female longhorn beetles that are pests, such as the Asian longhorn beetle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the time it took for a male to hold a black glass ball (female model). [Diagram 2] FIG. 3A shows the reaction of males in the untreated group in Example 2, FIG. 3B shows the reaction of males in the female extract treatment group, and FIG. 3C shows the males holding a black glass marble. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing the number of conidia attached to the Spotted Longhorn Beetle. Male A: The number of conidia attached to a male that was kept together with BiolisaTM Longhorn Beetle Slim + untreated black glass beads for 1 hour, Male B: The number of conidia attached to a male that was kept together with BiolisaTM Longhorn Beetle Slim + female extract-treated black glass beads for 1 hour, Female B: The number of conidia attached to a female that was placed in the same case as Male B for 1 hour. [Figure 4] A graph showing the mortality rate of Asian longhorn beetles one week after walking on Biorisa TM Longhorn Beetle Slim. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 shows an experimental scheme of Example 2. [Figure 6] A photo of a male holding a glass marble treated with a female extract that was placed on BiorisaTM Longhorn Beetle Slim for one hour. The whitish parts at the tips of the legs and on the ventral side of the abdomen are conidia. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The present invention will be described in detail below. The present invention relates to a method for controlling female longhorn beetle insects, the method being characterized by a step of installing an apparatus comprising a member to which the contact pheromone of an adult female longhorn beetle insect is attached and a member to which an entomopathogenic fungus is attached, at a location to be controlled.

[0018] The insects to be controlled are not particularly limited as long as they belong to the family Cerambycidae, but are preferably insects belonging to the subfamily Cerambycidae, more preferably insects belonging to the genus Anoplophora, and even more preferably Anoplophora malasiaca. A specific example of an insect belonging to the family Cerambycidae other than Anoplophora malasiaca is Aromia bungii.

[0019] The contact pheromone of the female adult can be the sex pheromone of the longhorn beetle to be controlled. For example, when the longhorn beetle is the target of control, the contact pheromone of the female longhorn beetle can be used. Compounds having the contact pheromone action of the longhorn beetle have been identified, and for example, the hydrocarbon group described in JP-A-11-80039, the ketone group described in JP-A-4023721, and the compound group having a 3-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane skeleton described in JP-A-4621904 and JP-A-2017-95381 are known to have such an action. Specific examples of the compound group having a 3-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane skeleton can include compounds represented by the following formula. [ka]

[0020] The contact pheromone for adult females can be one or a mixture of two or more of the above-mentioned compounds. However, it is not necessary to use a purified compound having pheromone activity, and for example, an extract of a female insect belonging to the family Cerambycidae may be used.

[0021] The member to which the contact pheromone of a female adult is attached (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "pheromone member") is preferably similar in color, shape, and size to a female individual of the Longicornidae family, so that a male individual will mistakenly recognize it as a female individual and will likely initiate mating attempt behavior. Specifically, the color of the pheromone member is preferably a dark color such as black. The shape of the pheromone member is preferably cylindrical, prismatic, spherical, elliptical, or capsule-like. The size of the pheromone member varies depending on the insect of the family Cerambycidae to be controlled, but when the target is the Asian longhorn beetle, if it is cylindrical, it is preferably 20 mm to 40 mm in length and 5 mm to 15 mm in diameter, if it is prismatic, it is preferably 20 mm to 40 mm in length, 5 mm to 15 mm in width, and 5 mm to 15 mm in height, if it is spherical, it is preferably 5 mm to 15 mm in diameter, and if it is oval or capsule-shaped, it is preferably 20 mm to 40 mm in length and 5 mm to 15 mm in maximum diameter. The material of the pheromone member is not particularly limited, and can be, for example, glass, metal, plastic, gelatin, etc.

[0022] There is no particular limitation on the means for attaching the contact pheromone to the member, and the member may be coated or impregnated with the contact pheromone so that the male individual can sense it. Alternatively, a sheet coated with the contact pheromone may be attached to the member.

[0023] The insect pathogenic fungus used is preferably an insect pathogenic filamentous fungus, more preferably a filamentous fungus belonging to the genus Beauveria or Metarhizium, further preferably Beauveria brongniartii or Beauveria bassiana, and particularly preferably Beauveria brongniartii. TM Longhorn Beetle Slim contains Beauveria brongniartii as its active ingredient.

[0024] The member to which the entomopathogens are attached (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "entomopathogen member") is preferably in a sheet-like shape, because the sheet-like shape allows the pheromone member to be easily placed thereon, and when a male individual performs a mating attempt behavior (behavior of embracing the pheromone member), the legs of the male individual come into contact with the entomopathogen member, allowing the entomopathogens to attach to the legs.

[0025] The material of the entomopathogenic member is not particularly limited, and may be nonwoven fabric, woven fabric, paper, or the like.

[0026] There is no particular limitation on the means for attaching the entomopathogenic fungus to the member, and the member may be coated with or impregnated with a suspension of the entomopathogenic fungus.

[0027] In a device equipped with a pheromone member and an insect pathogen member, the pheromone member is placed near the center of the insect pathogen member (usually in a sheet form, as described above.) With this structure, when a male individual performs a mating attempt, the legs of the male individual come into contact with the insect pathogen member, and a large amount of insect pathogens can be attached, especially to the legs. EXAMPLES

[0028] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0029] Example 1: Evaluation of male adhesion to female extracts The behavioral experiment was carried out between 9:00 and 17:00 (8 hours) at a room temperature of 25 degrees. For the experiment, eggs were collected from spotted longhorn beetles collected in the field, and then individuals that were raised to adulthood in the laboratory were used. A capsule-shaped black glass beetle (12 mm in diameter, 35 mm in length) was used as a female model. The black glass bead was attached to a circular filter paper (15 cm in diameter) with double-sided tape, and an amount of female extract equivalent to one female was applied.

[0030] Males were placed in plastic cups with either a black glass marble coated with the female extract or an untreated black glass marble. The males' behavior was photographed every 10 minutes with a camera placed directly above, and the time they spent holding the black glass marble (mating attempt behavior) was calculated by checking the photographs. The time each male held the marble the longest was recorded. The results are shown in Figure 1. Figures 2A and B show the experiment in progress, and Figure 2C shows the male holding the black glass marble.

[0031] The males continued to hold the black glass marble treated with the female extract for about 5 hours on average (out of the total experimental time of 8 hours) (Fig. 1). A statistically significant difference was confirmed compared to the untreated black glass marble. In the untreated group, the males wandered around the case without holding the marble (Fig. 2A), whereas in the female extract-treated group, the males continued to hold the marble while changing their body position (Fig. 2B).

[0032] Example 2: Black glass beads and bioliths TM Evaluation of the number of pathogenic fungal conidia attached when combined with Longhorn Beetle Slim (1) Biolithia TM A long-horned beetle (Idemitsu Agri Co., Ltd.) was cut into pieces measuring 2.5 x 5.0 cm, and a black glass ball either untreated or treated with the female extract was placed in the center of the cut piece. TM A pair of longhorn beetles and a black glass ball were placed near the beetle, and the male was allowed to interact with them for one hour. After the males were removed, the number of conidia attached to each male was counted. The results are shown in Figure 3.

[0033] While almost no conidia were attached to the males in the untreated group (Fig. 3, Male A), a large amount of conidia was attached to the males in the female extract-treated group (Fig. 3, Male B).

[0034] (2) Males equivalent to Male B that had been allowed to move freely for 1 hour in the female extract treatment area were prepared and were then introduced to females. All males exhibited mating behavior toward the females. After the males and females were allowed to meet, they were left in a plastic case for 1 hour. After 1 hour, the females were collected and the number of conidia attached to their body surface was counted. The results are shown in Figure 3.

[0035] Direct Bioresearch TM Many conidia were attached even to female individuals that had not been exposed to the longhorn beetle Slim (Figure 3 Female B).

[0036] Example 3: Biolisa TM Evaluation of mortality rates against walking time on the longhorn beetle slime Biolisa TM A piece of slimy longhorn beetle (3 × 22 cm) was placed in the center of a plastic case (30 × 22 × 6 cm) and the adults were placed in a bioreactor. TM The beetles were introduced onto the Longhorn Beetle Slim and allowed to walk for 3 seconds (passing through) or 60 seconds, after which they were individually fed and maintained, and their survival or death was recorded after one week. The results are shown in Figure 4.

[0037] The mortality rate was about 50% when the walking time was 3 seconds, whereas it was close to 100% when the walking time was 60 seconds (Figure 4). [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] Since the present invention relates to pest control, it can be used in industries such as the agricultural chemical industry.

Claims

1. A method for controlling female longhorn beetle insects, comprising the steps of: (1) installing the device comprising a member having a contact pheromone of an adult female longhorn beetle attached thereto and a member having an entomopathogenic fungus attached thereto, the member having a sheet-like shape; and (2) positioning the member having the contact pheromone attached thereto such that when a male longhorn beetle insect performs a mating attempt on the member having the contact pheromone attached thereto, the feet of the male longhorn beetle insect will come into contact with the member having the entomopathogenic fungus attached thereto.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the insect of the family Cerambycidae is an insect of the subfamily Myrmecoidea.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the insect of the family Longhorn beetle is a longhorn beetle.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insect pathogenic fungus is an insect pathogenic filamentous fungus.

5. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insect pathogen is Beauveria brongniartii.

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