Anomala cuprea

Anomala cuprea Scarabaeiformia Scarabaeidae Rutelinae Anomala octiescostata Scarabaeidae Rutelinae Anomala osakana Scarabaeidae Rutelinae Exomala orientalis Scarabaeidae Rutelinae Holotrichia parallela Scarabaeidae Melolonthinae... 

Larsson M. C., Leal W. S. and Hansson B. S. (2001) Olfactory receptor neurons detecting plant odours and male volatiles in Anomala cuprea beetles (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae). J. Insect Physiol. 47, 1065-1076. 

Leal W. S. (1991) (R,Z)-5-(-)-Oct-l-enyl) Oxacyclopentan-2-one, the sex-pheromone of the scarab beetle Anomala cuprea. Naturwissenschaften 78, 521-523. 

The Coleoptera (beetles) contains about 300,000 species and are very varied in form, diet and habitat. Equally they have very different kinds of pheromones and defensive secretions, many of them derived from fatty acids. The bean weevil Acanthoscelides obtectus uses an unusual allenic methyl ester (Figure 3.25). Its biosynthesis has not yet been investigated. Allenes are an unusual example of chirality. Anomala cuprea, a chafer grub produces two lactone sex attractants, derived from the unsaturated acids oleic and palmitoleic acids (Figure 3.25). Both are shortened by the loss of two acetic acid units, then oxidized (stereospecifically) at the allylic position and cyclized to the pheromone. 

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