Chemical Composition and Attractant Activity of Volatiles from Rhus potaninii to The Spring Aphid Kaburagia rhusicola.

Rhus potaninii Maxim, a type of sumac, is an economically important tree widely cultivated in mountainous areas of western and central China. A gall, called the bellied gallnut, induced by the aphid, Kaburagia rhusicola Takagi, is important in the food, medical, and chemical industries in China. Volatiles from R. potaninii were found to attract K. rhusicola, but little is known about them. The chemical composition of these volatiles was investigated using GC-MS analysis and Y-tube olfactometer methods. Twenty-five compounds accounting for 55.3% of the volatiles were identified, with the highest proportion of 1-(4-ethylphenyl)ethanone (11.8%), followed by 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)ethanone (11.2%) and p-cymen-7-ol (7.1%). These findings provide a theoretical basis for the preparation of attractants and could eventually lead to increased bellied gallnut yield.