Abstract: 【Aim】 This study aims to screen plant volatiles attracting Cylas formicarius. 【Methods】 Plant volatiles of five sweetpotato cultivars were collected by headspace adsorption device and then identified and quantified on GC-MS. EAG response and taxis of C. formicarius adults to candidate volatiles from the sweetpotato plants were assayed. And the olfactory responses of C. formicarius adults to volatiles emanating from stems and leaves of five sweetpotato cultivars were measured by using a Y-tube olfactometer. 【Results】 The GC-MS results showed that the types and contents of volatiles collected from the five sweetpotato cultivars were different. Seven candidate volatiles (ocimene, limonene, nonanal, β-caryophyllene, humulene, farnesene, and (Z)-3-hexen-1-olacetate) elicited EAG responses in both male and female adults of C. formicarius. The EAG responses of female adults of C. formicarius to limonene, nonanal and β-caryophyllene were significantly higher than to the other chemicals tested, while those of males to ocimene, limonene and humulene were significantly higher than to other chemicals tested. In taxis assay, limonene and nonanal attracted male adults, and humulene and limonene attracted females. The response rates of C. formicarius adults to volatiles from stems and leaves of the five sweetpotato cultivars were 40.90%~65.21%, and the volatiles emitted from sweetpotato stems and leaves of the five cultivars had no significant attractivity to all adults (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】 Male and female adults of C. formicarius show different EAG and olfactory behavioral responses to the volatiles from the sweetpotato, and the volatile limonene is closely related to the preference of C. formicarius.

Key words: Cylas formicarius; host plant, sweetpotato, plant volatile, EAG response, olfactory response