Response of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) to a blend of chemicals identified from honeybee (Apis mellifera) volatiles

Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of Super Q collected worker honey bee volatiles revealed several components that elicited antennal responses by the small hive beetle Aethina tumida. However, GC-MS analysis showed that eight of these EAD-active components dominated the volatile profile released into a wind tunnel by living adult worker honeybees and rubber septa impregnated with a Super Q extract of the volatiles of the bees in a 15-min bioassay. These components were identified as isopentyl acetate, 2-heptanone, octanal, hexyl acetate, nonanal, 2-nonanone, methyl benzoate and decanal. In dual-choice wind tunnel bioassays, the Super Q extract and a blend of the eight components elicited dose-dependent upwind responses from beetles relative to a solvent control. At 375-bee day equivalents, the Super Q extract and the 8-component blend elicited 76 and 74% upwind response, respectively, which compared with 84% response from approx. 150-200 living worker honey bees. In contrast, the Super Q extract and the 8-component blend lured only approx. 12 and 3% of beetles, respectively, into a trap compared to 48% by the odor from living adult worker bees.