Electrophysiological Responses of Atta sexdens rubropilosa Workers to Essential Oils of Eucalyptus and its Chemical Composition

Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-27T11:21:58Z No. of bitstreams: 0Bitstream added on 2014-05-27T14:33:35Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 2-s2.0-33750952903.pdf: 372341 bytes, checksum: 21700945d0399d6728a3fdd024591cbc (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-27T11:21:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-09-01 The leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel, 1908 is the most harmful of the Eucalyptus pests, causing severe losses in wood production through defoliation. Various strategies have been tried and effort spent on the development of methods to control this pest, however no practical and environmentally acceptable one currently exists. In this work the chemical composition of the essential oil of seven Eucalyptus species was identified and the selectivity and sensitivity of antennal receptors of A. sexdens rubropilosa workers to the volatile compounds were determined using the electroantennographic technique (EAG and GC-EAD). Analysis by GC-EAD showed in E. cloesiana and E. maculata, respectively, seventeen and sixteen terpenes that elicited responses in ant workers' antennae, indicating the potential role of the essential oils as allelochemicals that determine the choice of the foraging material. © 2006 Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung. Departamento de Química Universidade Federal de São Carlos, C.P. 676, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP Instituto de Biociências Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais Universidade Estadual Paulista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP Instituto de Biociências Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais Universidade Estadual Paulista, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP