Bark beetles of the genus Polygraphus have recently been involved in large bark beetle outbreaks in central Sweden, together with the European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus. Three species of Polygraphus can be found in this region; Polygraphus poligraphus, Polygraphus punctifrons and Polygraphus subopacus. Efficient pheromone traps would facilitate further investigations of these species and their role in bark beetle outbreaks. Pheromone compounds have previously been identified in P. poligraphus and P. punctifrons, but not in P. subopacus. Thus, we allowed males and females of P. subopacus to bore in the bark of stem sections of Norway spruce (Picea abies) in the laboratory. Volatile organic compounds from boring insects were sampled with SPME and analysed with GC–MS and several male-specific compounds were observed. The male specific compounds were 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol, 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol, 3-methyl-2-butenal, grandisol, fragranol, (Z)-2-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene)-ethanol, (E)-2-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene)-ethanol, (Z)-2-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene)-acetaldehyde, (E)-2-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene)-acetaldehyde, geranial and γ-isogeraniol. (Z)-2-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene)-ethanol, [(Z)-DMCHE], was identified from GC–MS analysis to be the major male-specific compound while the (E)-isomer, [(E)-DMCHE], was found as a minor compound. These two compounds gave positive responses in EAG analyses with antennae from males and females of P. subopacus. Thus, (Z)- and (E)-DMCHE were used in a field experiment in central Sweden but only (Z)-DMCHE was found to be attractive to males and females of P. subopacus. Consequently, (Z)-DMCHE was established to be a component of P. subopacus aggregation pheromone.

Polygraphus属的树皮甲虫最近与欧洲云杉树皮甲虫Ipstypographus一起参与了瑞典中部的大规模树皮甲虫爆发。该地区可以发现三种Polygraphus ； Polygraphus poligraphus、Polygraphus punctifrons和Polygraphus subopacus。有效的信息素诱捕器将有助于进一步研究这些物种及其在树皮甲虫爆发中的作用。此前已在P. poligraphus和P. punctifrons中发现了信息素化合物，但在P. subopacus中尚未发现。因此，我们在实验室中让雄性和雌性P. subopacus在挪威云杉 ( Picea abies )茎段的树皮中钻洞。使用固相微萃取 (SPME) 对钻蛀昆虫的挥发性有机化合物进行取样，并使用 GC-MS 进行分析，观察到几种雄性特有的化合物。男性特异化合物为 3-甲基-3-丁烯-1-醇、3-甲基-2-丁烯-1-醇、3-甲基-2-丁烯醛、大地醇、fragraanol、( Z )-2-(3, 3-二甲基亚环己基)-乙醇、( E )-2-(3,3-二甲基亚环己基)-乙醇、( Z )-2-(3,3-二甲基亚环己基)-乙醛、( E )-2-(3,3- (二甲基亚环己基)-乙醛、香叶醛和γ-异香叶醇。通过 GC-MS 分析，确定( Z )-2-(3,3-二甲基亚环己基)-乙醇 [( Z )-DMCHE] 是主要的男性特异性化合物，而 ( E )-异构体 [( E )-DMCHE]，被发现为次要化合物。这两种化合物在对P. subopacus雄性和雌性触角的 EAG 分析中给出了阳性反应。因此，( Z )-和( E )-DMCHE被用于瑞典中部的田间实验，但发现只有( Z )-DMCHE对雄性和雌性亚卵白虾具有吸引力。因此，( Z )-DMCHE 被确定为P. subopacus聚集信息素的组成部分。