Pat is Mr. Pheromone - he is the best one to answer pheromone related questions - i ask him things all the time! Good answer Pat - thanks!
Jill > On Jun 26, 2025, at 9:40 AM, Angelica Isa-Adaniya <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Thank you for that wonderfully thorough answer, Pat! Saving that for future > reference! > > Best, > Angelica Isa > > > On Thu, Jun 26, 2025, 09:30 Patrick Kelley <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> Hi Florence, >> >> Pheromones are so intriguing in how insects use them to communicate. Over a >> career of working closely with them I have seen many examples of attraction >> other than the target species. First of all, insect pheromones can be a >> complicated blend of several molecules to attract the pest insects we want >> to monitor. With this blend of different chemical molecules, we sometimes >> see closely related species reacting to the blend and being drawn near to >> it. As an example, the blended pheromone for webbing clothes moth, Tineola >> bisselliella can draw in case-making clothes moths, Tinea pellionella and >> brown-dotted clothes moths, Niditinea fuscella (depending on the custom >> blend). Besides these, I have also seen a slight attraction to this same >> pheromone from some related Monopsis moths such as the bird nest moth, >> Monopsis crocicapitella and the skunkback moth, Monopsis dorsistregella. All >> of these moths are related in that they are in the family Tineidae. Even >> more intriguing is the fact that there is a type of clearwing moth in the >> family Sesiidae that is attracted to this pheromone. This particular moth >> has evolved into Batesian mimicry where a harmless species has evolved into >> imitating the warning signals of a harmful species (wasp). I learned this at >> one of my son's soccer matches when these wasp-looking moths started flying >> all around me since I worked with the pheromone. I was left all alone in the >> stands trying to identify the moth since all of the other parents around me >> were running away from what they thought were a swarm of wasps. They all >> thought that I was either brave or an idiot when I grabbed one to inspect it >> closer 😄. >> >> The same is true for some of the beetles as well. We see cross attraction to >> several of the dermestid beetles in the genus Trogoderma such as the >> warehouse beetle, Trogoderma variabile, Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium >> and the cabinet beetle, Trogoderma glabrum. >> >> Even though there is cross-attraction between species, the reason these >> species aren't inter-breeding is because as the males approach the female >> who is producing the pheromone, there needs to be many other cues presented >> before they actually mate. These could include a male-produced pheromone >> being presented, wing beating vibrations produced by the male or even a >> mating-ritual dance before the female allows mating. >> >> From a monitoring standpoint of a pheromone in a sticky trap within your >> museum, we have not seen evidence of repellency. You can place a carpet >> beetle pheromone and a clothes moth pheromone into the same trap and attract >> both without repelling either. If this pheromone is on what would otherwise >> be considered a blunder trap (a trap on the ground along a wall), you will >> still capture any and all arthropods in that environment that happen to be >> passing through. There should be no risk of not knowing the biodiversity of >> that environment due to the pheromone lure in the trap. >> >> This may have been a long-winded response to your question, but I hope that >> it helps. >> >> Best, >> >> Pat >> >> Patrick Kelley, BCE (Board Certified Entomologist) >> Kelley Entomological Services, LLC >> 1204 Ridge Road, Carmel, IN 46033 USA >> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1204+Ridge+Road,+Carmel,+IN+46033+USA?entry=gmail&source=g> >> Phone: 317-902-3104 >> email:[email protected] >> <mailto:email%[email protected]> >> >> >> On Wed, Jun 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM 'Florence Fleury - Artena Heritage >> Preservation GmbH' via MuseumPests <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> Hello, >>> >>> I have a question regarding pheromone traps: >>> These are designed to attract a specific insect species (for example, >>> clothes moths or carpet beetles). But is it possible for a pheromone trap >>> targeting one species to also attract other insect species — or, on the >>> contrary, to have a repellent effect on them? >>> In other words, could a pheromone trap specifically designed for one >>> species distort monitoring results by discouraging or failing to attract >>> other insects that are actually present in a collection ? >>> This would mean that targeted trapping doesn't necessarily provide a >>> representative overview of the actual insect biodiversity in a space. >>> >>> Thank you in advance for any insights you can provide! >>> >>> Florence Fleury >>> >>> <1000027490-id-1fa27c2d-d567-4204-99a8-0037b614d561.png> >>> Artena Heritage Preservation GmbH >>> >>> Zentweg 17b / CH – 3006 Bern >>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/Zentweg+17b+%2F+CH+%E2%80%93+3006+Bern?entry=gmail&source=g> >>> >>> +41 (0) 31 533 47 19 >>> [email protected] >>> artena.swiss >>> UID: CHE – 158.652.924 >>> >>> >>> Florence Fleury >>> Dipl. Konservatorin/Restauratorin FH >>> SKR-Mitglied >>> +41 (0) 79 764 26 61 >>> [email protected] >>> <1000027489-id-1e1115cf-6251-4cf5-a395-f01ee7830bde.png> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MuseumPests" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/GVAP278MB0230CEF95BC45CAD8048D11DA57BA%40GVAP278MB0230.CHEP278.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/GVAP278MB0230CEF95BC45CAD8048D11DA57BA%40GVAP278MB0230.CHEP278.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. >> >> >> >> -- >> Patrick Kelley, BCE (Board Certified Entomologist) >> Kelley Entomological Services, LLC >> 1204 Ridge Road, Carmel, IN 46033 USA >> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1204+Ridge+Road,+Carmel,+IN+46033+USA?entry=gmail&source=g> >> Phone: 317-902-3104 >> email:[email protected] >> <mailto:email%[email protected]> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MuseumPests" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAOT71Ua16D1eihNp7%2BiO-CzufkYx-Cu-4_bVfhEmU9DKo5DjCw%40mail.gmail.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAOT71Ua16D1eihNp7%2BiO-CzufkYx-Cu-4_bVfhEmU9DKo5DjCw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MuseumPests" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAAJvYjWPgTsEG%2BWsAw5x_reYszFjTC7bEf_kApCCEEiPGxNsKg%40mail.gmail.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAAJvYjWPgTsEG%2BWsAw5x_reYszFjTC7bEf_kApCCEEiPGxNsKg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.  Dr. Jill Gordon Urban Entomologist Mantis Consulting 86 Crease Rd Mt. Olive NJ 07828 (973) 945-1776 [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/E8F41704-BCAA-4310-B114-18FFB1AED124%40gmail.com.
