Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2007) 124, 213-219

Giacinto S. Germinara, Abubaker Elgargoti, Antonio De Cristofaro and Giuseppe Rotundo (2007)
Female sex pheromone of Sesamia cretica: chemical and behavioural evidence for a three-component blend
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 124 (2), 213-219
Abstract: The female-produced sex pheromone of the Durra stem borer, Sesamia cretica (Lederer) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), had been previously characterized as a 75:25 blend of (Z)-9-tetradecenol (Z9-14:OH) and (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc) based on field trapping experiments. The low attraction of this blend in the field led us to further investigate the sex pheromone of this pest. Coupled gas chromatography with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analysis of female pheromone gland extracts consistently revealed three EAD-active compounds. According to their GC retention times, mass spectra, and comparative EAG analyses with authentic standards, two of these compounds were found to be the previously reported components Z9-14:OH and Z9-14:OAc, whereas a third compound was identified as (Z)-11-hexadecenol (Z11-16:OH). In wind tunnel experiments, the highest male responses were elicited by ratios of Z9-14:OH, Z9-14:OAc, and Z11-16:OH, ranging from 90:1:9 to 90:5:5. In field tests, the 90:1:9 ratio of the blend loaded onto rubber septum dispensers was significantly more effective than single-component, two-component, and any other ratio of the three-component blend. The greater effectiveness of this blend resulted in a more accurate detection of S. cretica flight activity compared with the previously reported two-component blend.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Giacinto Salvatore Germinara, Antonio De Cristofaro, Giuseppe Rotundo

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
pheromones/attractants/traps
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Sesamia cretica