Camphor: An attractant for the cupreous polished chafer, Protaetia pryeri pryeri (Janson) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Adults of cupreous polished chafer Protaetia pryeri pryeri (Janson) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) were attracted by and landed on cotton balls treated with commercially available pet deodorant spray or a topical antipruritic for human skin. When volatiles from the spray and antipruritic were extracted by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by GC-MS, camphor was found as a common compound. This compound was not detected in the volatiles of two other commercially available deodorant sprays, neither of which attracted chafers. In the field, P p. pryeri were attracted to cotton balls treated with 63 mu g to 4 mg (1R)-camphor but not to untreated balls. This demonstrated that (1R)-camphor is an attractant for P p. pryeri. The adaptive significance of the response to camphor by P p. pryeri is discussed.