Conservation programs in urban ecosystems need to determine the genetic background in populations of urban dwellers. We examined the genetic diversity and structure of Pieris rapae and P. melete using AFLP markers, and compared them between species and between urban and rural environments. As a result: (i). in both species, there was no reduction in genetic diversity within urban populations by direct comparison of diversity measurements, although the analysis of molecular variance suggested significant reductions in the variance within seasonal subpopulations in urban populations; (ii). P. rapae retained greater genetic diversity within species and populations; (iii). populations of both species showed significant genetic differentiation, and P. melete was more strongly subdivided; (iv). in both species, geographically close populations did not cluster with one another in the upgma analysis; (v). there was no genetic isolation due to geographical distance in either species; (vi). the genetic composition of seasonal subpopulations differed in urban populations of both species, and the genetic distances among subpopulations were correlated with seasonal differences in P. rapae and with temporal differences in P. melete. These results indicate that the genetic diversity in urban populations of both species was reduced at times, but was maintained by dispersal from genetically differentiated populations. Differences in the ability and mode of dispersal in the two species may be reflected in the degree of population subdivision and patterns of seasonal change in the genetic composition.

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Illiberis (Primilliberis) rotundata Jordan, 1907 (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) is an orchard pest distributed in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu in Japan and also in China, Korea, Mongolia and Russia (south-eastern Siberia and Far East). For optimizing a known sex attractant lure containing sex pheromone components of the species (2R)-butyl (7Z)-dodecenoate and (2R)-butyl (9Z)-tetradecenoate, field work was organized in three cherry tree plots in Naruto, Tokushima in 2009 and 2010. As a result, the mixture of (2R)-butyl (7Z)-dodecenoate and (2R)-butyl (9Z)-tetradecenoate in a ratio of 30:100-50:100 (130-150 mg, respectively) was found to be the most attractive for the males of this pest. The seasonal flight of I. rotundata in Naruto, Japan as estimated by pheromone traps started at the end of May and lasted up to the end of June with a mass flight at the very end of May to first week of June.Key words: (2R)-butyl (7Z)-dodecenoate, (2R)-butyl (9Z)-tetradecenoate, sex attractant lure.Correspondence: Mitko A. Subchev,

The plum moth, Illiberis rotundata Jordan (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae: Procridinae), is a pest of orchards in Japan and China. Few chemical ecological studies have been directed towards the Zygaenidae and particularly the Procridinae. To investigate the sex pheromone of this species, extracts of pheromone glands from adult female I. rotundata were analyzed by coupled gas chromatographyelectroantennography (GC-EAG) and coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Whilst GC-EAG on male moths showed an active peak, identified as 2-butyl (7Z)-dodecenoate, GC-MS also revealed the presence of the homologue 2-butyl (9Z)-tetradecenoate. Electroantennographic investigations, as well as field tests, strongly suggested the natural compounds to have the (R)-configuration at the stereogenic centre. Field results demonstrate 0.2 mg of a 1:1-mixture of (2R)-butyl (7Z)-dodecenoate and (2R)-butyl (9Z)-tetradecenoate to be a powerful lure that may be used in pest control measures against I. rotundata. The chemical structures of the new pheromone components show the same features as those of other zygaenid species: unsaturated fatty acids esterified with a short chain chiral alcohol. This is the first example of a two-component blend constituting the pheromone of a procridinid species.

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