246 Kamala Jayanthi PD et al.
Reddy et al. 2005a) as well as female-produced
sex pheromones (Rodstein et al. 2011 ; Ray et al.
2011 ). Further, evidences suggest that attraction
in longhorned beetles is likely to be a combina-
tion of host kairomones and pheromones (Nehme
et al. 2010 ; Saint- Germaine et al. 2007 ; Smith
et al. 2007 , 2008 ) indicating at least two strate-
gies of long-range attraction that depend largely
on the condition of the larval host (Hanks 1999 ;
Allison et al. 2004 ; Millar et al. 2009 ) have
emerged. For species utilizing stressed hosts as
noticed in the case of B. rufomaculata, which
tend to be ephemeral resources, both sexes are
reported to get attracted to host kairomones
(Ginzel and Hanks 2005 ), male-produced pher-
omones (Hanks et al. 2007 ; Lacey et al. 2007a,
b, 2008 , 2009 ; Ray et al. 2009a, b), host kairo-
mones + male produced aggregation pheromones
(Silk et al. 2007 ), or host/bark kairomones + male
produced aggregation pheromones (Pajares et al.
2010 ). In a few species, females are attracted
to male-produced sex pheromones (Lacey et al.
2004 ; Hall et al. 2006 ; Hanks et al. 2007 ) or a
combination of host kairomones + male produced
sex pheromones (Fonseca and Zarbin 2009 ).
The role of semiochemicals in mate location
in majority of cerambycids apparently appears
quite complex involving possible role of male
and female pheromones and kairomones (Wick-
ham et al. 2012 ). A detailed multi-faceted behav-
ioral approach to understand the mate/host loca-
tion perhaps will provide a needed tool for pest
management, survey and detection, and control
for this important polyphagous cerambycid.
Similarly, there are a couple of serious cur-
culionid weevil pests in banana viz., rhizome
weevil, C. sordidus; pseudostem weevil, O. lon-
gicollis that are highly monophagous and spe-
cific to banana. Of these, for rhizome borer, C.
sordidus, a commercial male aggregation phero-
mone—Sordidin was identified by Budenberg
et al. ( 1993 ) and is popular among banana farm-
ers. In case of pseudostem borer, O. longicollis,
the weevils were already known to get attracted
to cut stems of host plant (Sahayaraj and Kom-
baiah 2009; Palanichamy and Ya-Ping 2011 ;
Kamala Jayanthi et al. 2012 ) and conspecifics
(Prasuna et al. 2008 ). Baiting with male aggrega-
tion pheromone (2-methyl-4-heptanol) of O. lon-
gicollis in conjunction with host plant extract in
funnel traps attracted significantly more weevils
than traps baited with either pheromone or host
plant extract alone (Gunawardena et al. 1997 ,
1999 ; Palanichamy and Ya-Ping 2011 ). Further,
evidence for a female-produced sex pheromone
which is attractive to male weevils was also re-
ported (Ravi and Palaniswami 2002 ). Neverthe-
less, all these studies are limited laboratory/field
trials and there is no commercial availability of
phyto-semiochemicals that will attract weevils
to strengthen the management programs to date.
Semiochemical based trapping in banana weevil
management has potential either in mass trapping
or as part of IPM programs. Accurate identifica-
tion, isolation, characterization, synthesis and
formulation of these semiochemicals through
consistent behavioral bioassays will be a boon to
farmers.
The chemical ecology of homopterans from
host plants to consepcific interactions were com-
piled in detail by Kristoffersen ( 2003 ) where
research concerning homopteran behaviors and
semiochemicals (= sex pheromones, alarm pher-
omones, aggregation pheromones, spacing pher-
omones, host plant volatiles and their synergistic
interactions) though quite scarce. The positive
results of aphid and psylloid studies certainly en-
courage similar attempts in other major pestrifer-
ous homoptera in mango and citrus.
There are several species of hoppers damag-
ing mango crop all over India. Of these Ideosco-
pus spp are very important mainly attacking
inflorescence and causing economic damage.
The Ideoscopus spp are highly host specific; I.
clypealis breeds only on inflorescence stalks of
mango; where as I. nitidulus, Amrasca splen-
dens, and Amritiodus atkinsoni though specific to
mango can breed both on new flushes of leaves
as well as inflorescence stalk. Amrasca bigut-
tula biguttula can however feed and breed on a
number of hosts of several families such as so-
lanaceae, cucurbitaceae, malvaceae, asteraceae
etc. Apart from cultural and biological meth-
ods, chemical option is still the major weapon
for controlling this pest. There are no studies on
exploring the role of host plant cues involved as