Blackheaded fireworm: Laboratory and field studies of its sex pheromone

Abstract

Electroantennogram (EAG) responses of maleRhopobota naevana (Hübner), the blackheaded fireworm, to all of the monoene straightchain 12- and 14-carbon alcohols and acetates implicated (Z)-11-tetradecenl-1-ol (Z11-14∶OH) and its acetate (Z11-14∶Ac) as sex pheromone components.Z11-14∶Ac produced the strongest EAG response of all compounds tested. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of extract of female sex pheromone glands (SPG) confirmed the presence ofZ11-14∶OH (125 pg/female) andZ11-14∶Ac (600 pg/female) (all other monoenes had different retention times). In field tests, traps baited withZ11-14∶OH alone captured males, but traps baited withZ11-14∶Ac alone did not. Traps baited with a combination ofZ11-14∶OH andZ11-14∶Ac in various ratios did not produce better trap catches thanZ11-14∶OH alone. (Z)-9-Dodecen-1-ol acetate (Z9-12∶Ac), reported by others to be a field attractant, did not produce trap catch in our tests, but in combination withZ11-14∶ OH (98∶2 in septa corresponding to 95:5 in vapor,Z11-14∶OH toZ9-12∶AC) produced a sevenfold increase in catch overZ11-14∶OH alone. IfZ9-12∶AC had been present in extract of SPG at 2-5% ofZ11-14∶OH, it would not have been detected in our GC-MS experiment.

Pheromone released from polyvinyl chloride dispensers disrupts mate-finding and pheromone-source location by Rhopobota naevana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in cranberries

“…As in previous smaller trials (Fitzpatrick et al 1995), the reduction in matefinding in pheromone-treated plots was similar in the one-component and threecomponent treatments. When used as a lure, the three-component blend (Z11-14:Ac, Z11-14:OH, and Z9-12:Ac in a 9:3:1 ratio) attracts blackheaded fireworm males to traps (Slessor et al 1987;Fitzpatrick and Troubridge 1992), whereas the single component (Z11-14:Ac) does not (McDonough et al 1987;Slessor et al 1987). Evenden et al (1999) tested the hypothesis that the most attractive pheromone blend should be the most effective disruptant of pheromone communication and mating (an assumption thoroughly analyzed by Minks and Cardé 1988), and obtained results similar to ours.…”

Latitudinal variation in Dendroctonus ponderosae (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) development time and adult size

“…The apparent disparity between the relative amounts of Z1 I-14:Ac and Z11-14:Al in the pheromone gland and the amounts required in a lure to enhance trap catch may be due to differences in the relative release rate of compounds from rubber sleeve stoppers (McDonough et al 1987) or to a more rapid degradation of the aldehyde compounds compared with the acetate compounds (Howse et al 1998). In our field trapping experiments, a significant difference in the attractiveness of a lure containing a three-component blend of 21 1-14:Ac, E l 1-14:Ac, and Zl 1 -14:OH and of a lure containing a four-component blend of Z11-14:Ac, E l 1-14:Ac, Z11-14:OH, and Z11-14:Al was observed only when the amount of Zll-14:Al was 2.0% (Exp.…”

Chemical identification and behavioral activity of (Z)-11-tetradecenal in an eastern North American population of the obliquebanded leafroller

“…2) of the main component. The apparent disparity between the relative amounts of Z1 I-14:Ac and Z11-14:Al in the pheromone gland and the amounts required in a lure to enhance trap catch may be due to differences in the relative release rate of compounds from rubber sleeve stoppers (McDonough et al 1987) or to a more rapid degradation of the aldehyde compounds compared with the acetate compounds (Howse et al 1998).…”