Mr Seeger Van Kints1

1TIA, Hobart, Australia

Biography:

Originally from the Netherlands, Seeger studied a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Biology at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. After which he moved to Sweden to study a Master’s degree in plant physiology at Lund University. His thesis was on the pheromone chemistry of sexually deceptive orchids in Western Australia. This project was in collaboration with the University of Western of Australia.

In 2024, Seeger commenced his PhD at UTAS on the integrated pest management of mirids using pheromone trapping.

Abstract:

Despite advances in productivity, pest and disease control still heavily relies on agrochemicals, which harm human health and the environment. Mirid bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae) are a group of pestiferous insects of increasing concern within Australian blackberry and raspberry production. Mirids puncture and subsequently destroy soft plant tissues including buds, flowers and fruit leading to unmarketable fruit. Sidnia kinbergi (Stål) or the Australian crop mirid, is currently the most prevalent mirid in the Tasmanian Rubus industry. Pheromone trapping offers a novel way of monitoring and controlling these pests with minimal environmental impacts. However, there have been no studies of chemical signalling in this species.

The sex pheromones of mirids are known to be well conserved and are generally limited to blends of saturated and unsaturated short-chain esters and unsaturated ketoaldehydes. Constituents of mirid pheromones are often similar, but species-specific ratios in the pheromones differ. By extracting dissected scent glands of specimen collected during regional and interstate surveys we will use Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) to elucidate the pheromone constituent(s) and ratios. Intrapopulation variation in pheromone blends of S. kinbergi will be compared to interstate population variation. If high levels of variation in pheromone blends exist, pheromone trap blends should be adjusted to their respective local mirid population. Electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) will be used to examine the different physiological responses to different ratios of the pheromone constituents. Ultimately, effective pheromone traps and trapping methods can be tested to abate mirid damage and create a more sustainable agricultural industry.