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Section Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

What the Innovative Ecology? A Lens on the past Shines Light on Tools for Stored Product Entomology

Odor preference, feeding, survival, and reproduction of the invasive larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) on acorns of bur oak

Sunday, November 9, 2025
11:45 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, D135, OCC
Oral Presentation
The larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) is an invasive insect pest on stored grains but can also exploit non-grain food sources. Currently this species has a limited US distribution but with climate change is predicted to expand further into the US. Alternative non-grain foods could play a role in range expansion and previous research has shown that acorns can be a suitable food for the lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica (Fab.), a related species that is also a grain pest. We conducted P. truncatus odor preference assays with maize, wheat, and acorns from three different oak species: bur oak, black oak, and red oak and analyzed the volatile organic compound (VOC) emission profiles of grains and acorns. Also, we measured P. truncatus feeding, survival, and reproductive fitness on acorns. Results demonstrated P. truncatus responded to volatiles of each acorn species, but responses were strongest to acorns of bur oak. Interestingly, volatiles from bur oak acorns were also significantly more attractive than maize. VOCs analyses showed that two compounds emitted from acorns of the bur oak, including 3-Hepten-2-one and 2-(5-Methyl-furan-2-yl)-propionaldehyde, were unique compared to other treatments. Bioassays showed that P. truncatus survival was poor on undamaged acorns. Bur oak was also the only acorn species tested in which viable progeny were detected. These findings suggest that P. truncatus populations possess the evolutionary plasticity to survive on acorns when grain is absent, alluding to heightened landscape risk for this invasive pest in the US.