Background:
Scientists face difficulty in the collection of insect pheromones particularly from such insects which do not produce pheromones in captivity or on disturbance. This particularly relates to in situ headspace sampling apparatus for collection of volatiles directly without having an entrainment chamber for entraining the volatiles releasing sample.:
Technology Details:
The apparatus is adapted for the onsite collection of volatiles which is actively released by biological materials without affecting the quality and quantity of the volatiles. The apparatus is portable and intended to collect volatiles in situ conditions. The volatiles thus collected are not only used to study the biology and communication pattern of organisms but also in biodiversity monitoring, pest control, etc. The apparatus consists of at least one receptor with a tapering end, one or more sorbent traps with a single or branched stem where the adsorbent material is being positioned within, a flexible tube for connecting sorbent trap(s) to suction creating mechanism, and a suction creating mechanism at the end. The sorbent trap is a conical tubular structure detachably positioned in the tapering end of the receptor. The apparatus was successfully utilized to collect the pheromone of scarab beetle/ chafer beetle/ white-grub beetle, Holotrichia seticollis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae). It is one of the predominant white-grubs but do not get attracted to lights and thus gets trapped very less in light traps. The pheromone compound along with the parapheromone was found very effective in reducing that particular white grub (H. seticollis) to an extend of >80% in three years of use of pheromone traps in Almora.