The half-lives (t 1/2) of alcohol sex pheromones, 1-alkanols, acetate sex pheromones, and an epoxide (disparlure) were determined on natural rubber septa. Thet 1/2 values for the homologous alcohols from decanol to heptadecanol increased regularly from 2.2 to 1117 days, but thet 1/2 of octadecanol was 609 days. Thet 1/2 values of (Z)7-, (E)7-, and (Z)9-tetradecen-1-ol acetates were 154, 168, and 199 days, respectively, whereas those of five other tested 14-carbon acetates ranged from 310 to 350 days. The dependence oft 1/2 values on chain length and double-bond position is consistent with the hypothesis that molecular size is an important variable affectingt 1/2 values. Also, in accordance with the hypothesis, when aZ-alkenyl compound has a much shortert 1/2 than the corresponding saturated compound, thet 1/2 values of theZ compound and itsE isomer may be quite different. Thus, (E)-9-tetradecen-l-ol acetate had at 1/2 of 331 days. Thet 1/2 of disparlure was 180 days. The effect of thecis-7,8 epoxide group is apparently similar to that of the olefin group in lowering thet 1/2 below the value that would be expected solely on the basis of chain length.

Nineteen compounds were evaluated in combination with a solution of acetic acid as baits for trapping the German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica (F.), the western yellowjacket Vespula pensylvanica (Sausssure), and the golden paper wasp Polistes aurifer Saussure. Compounds with three to six carbon chains or branched chains and with a hydroxy functional group were selected for testing based on their similarity to isobutanol. They were compared with isobutanol with acetic acid, which is a known wasp attractant. None of the compounds tested were superior to isobutanol when presented with acetic acid as a lure for these species of wasps. However, traps baited with either the S-(-)- or the racemic mixture of 2-methyl-1-butanol in combination with acetic acid captured similar numbers of both species of yellowjackets, compared with isobutanol with acetic acid. Polistes aurifer responded strongly to the S-(-)-enantiomer and to the racemic mixture of 2-methyl-1-butanol with acetic acid and not to the R-(+)-enantiomer with acetic acid.

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Performance characteristics of polyethylene tube dispensers containing a mixture of (E,E)-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol (1), dodecan-1-ol (2), and tetradecan-1-ol (3) were evaluated for suitability as a mating disruptant for codling moth control. The rate of loss of pheromone component from a dispenser at any time was found to be described by the equation: -dP/dt=(k 1 k 2 +k d)P whereP is the amount of pheromone component in the dispenser well;t is time;k 1 is the ratio of the amount dissolved in the dispenser wall to the amount in the dispenser well;k 1 is the ratio of the evaporation rate to the amount dissolved in the dispenser wall;k d is the rate constant for chemical decomposition. The evaporation rate,E, of a pheromone component at any time was given by:E=k 1 k 2 P For all three components during the first three weeks,k 1 decreased from ca. 0.25 to ca. 0.10 and was approximately constant thereafter. The decrease ofk 1 with time may have been caused by weather-induced cross-linking of the polyethylene. Over timek 2 was constant and was 1.27 ± 0.26 × 10(-3)/hr for1, 1.96 ± 0.33 × 10su-3/hr for 2, and 0.31± 0.05 × 10(-3)/hr for 3. Thek 2 was zero for2 and3 and 6.96 × 10(-4) for1. After 150 days in an orchard in 1991, 95% of1 was lost from the dispensers (61% of the loss was by chemical decomposition and 39% by evaporation). The heat summation units in a Yakima valley orchard during 1991 were 4.7% above the average for the 1980-1991 period, while during 1990 they were the highest for this period (26% above average). After the first three weeks of dispenser aging, the regression line half-lives for1 for 1990 and 1991 were 31.0 and 35.1 days, respectively. The difference in temperature between 1990 and 1991 did not affect the half-life of1 very much because so much of the loss was from photochemically induced decomposition. Based on an estimate of the required minimum evaporation rate for mating disruption of 2 mg/ha-hr and a half-life of 35 days for1, 2345 dispensers/ha would be required for one application per season; 944 dispensers/ha for two applications per season; and 734 dispensers/ha for three applications per season. If a different emission rate of1 is required for reliable mating disruption, then the number of dispensers required would be changed proportionately.

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