Role of solid-phase microextraction in the identification of highly volatile pheromones of two Rhinoceros beetles Scapanes australis and Strategus aloeus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae)

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) samplings from live insects or natural secretion allowed one to identify the aggregation pheromones of the pest beetles Scapanes australis and Strategus aloeus by efficient and rapid isolation of their highly volatile (72<Mr<116) components. S. australis male pheromone was identified as a 84:12:4 (w/w) mixture of 2-butanol [67:33 (R)-(−):(S)-(+) ratio], 3-hydroxy-2-butanone and 2,3-butanediol [43:17:40 (R,R)-(−):(S,S)-(+):meso ratio], and S. aloeus pheromone as a 95.5:4.0:0.5 (w/w) mixture of 2-butanone, 3-pentanone and sec.-butyl acetate by GC–MS using conventional and chiral capillary columns. This is the first report of Scarabaeidae pheromones based on such small and common molecules.