Identification of the Sex Pheromone of the Spruce Seed Moth, Cydia strobilella L.

Abstract

The spruce seed moth, Cydia strobilella L., is a serious pest on cones of spruce (Picea spp.) in the Holarctic region. Previous studies from different parts of its area of distribution have reported conflicting results on the composition of its sex pheromone. By gas chromatography with electroantennographic detection, coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, a Y-tube olfactometer bioassay, and field trials, the sex pheromone of Swedish populations of the species was identified as (8E,10E)-dodecadienyl acetate and (8E,10Z)-dodecadienyl acetate. About 0.5 pg of each pheromone component was extracted per female. The most attractive blend of EE- and EZ-isomers was about 6:4, respectively, and 0.3 microg of the blend per rubber septum was the most attractive dosage for field trapping. Monounsaturated components previously reported as sex pheromone components/attractants for C. strobilella, (E)-8-dodecenyl acetate in Canadian populations and (Z)-8-dodecenol in Polish and Dutch populations, did not attract any C. strobilella in this study. Large numbers of C. jungiella Clerck were trapped by using (8E,10Z)-dodecadienyl acetate alone, whereas (Z)-8-dodecenol attracted Pammene splendidulana Guenée and P. rhediella Clerck.

Visual cues of oviposition sites and spectral sensitivity of Cydia strobilella L.

“…After the first half of the flight season, when no moths had been caught in the traps, one set of traps in Maltesholm was baited with a sub-optimal pheromone lure for C. strobilella (Wang et al, 2010). We used red rubber septa (11 mm × 5 mm, #224100-020 from Wheaton Science Products, Millville, NJ, USA) as dispenser, and applied 100 µl of pheromone solution, which contained 6 ng each of (E,E)-8,10-dodecadienyl acetate (E8,E10-12:OAc) and (E,Z)-8,10-dodecadienyl acetate (E8,Z10-12:OAc), i.e., a much lower dose compared to what has previously been used in field trials on this species (Wang et al, 2010;Svensson et al, 2013).…”

“…We used red rubber septa (11 mm × 5 mm, #224100-020 from Wheaton Science Products, Millville, NJ, USA) as dispenser, and applied 100 µl of pheromone solution, which contained 6 ng each of (E,E)-8,10-dodecadienyl acetate (E8,E10-12:OAc) and (E,Z)-8,10-dodecadienyl acetate (E8,Z10-12:OAc), i.e., a much lower dose compared to what has previously been used in field trials on this species (Wang et al, 2010;Svensson et al, 2013). E8,Z10-12:OAc was synthesized by Dr. Ilme Liblikas, University of Tartu, Estonia.…”

“…Recently, the components of the sex pheromone released by C. strobilella females were identified (Wang et al, 2010), and even more recently, a blend of host volatiles including (+)-α-pinene, (-)-α-pinene, (+)-β-pinene, (-)-β-pinene and myrcene was shown to be attractive to the species (Jakobsson et al, 2016). A close and comparatively well-studied relative of C. strobilella, the apple moth, Cydia pomonella, is attracted to (E,E)-farnesene (Coracini et al, 2004;Light and Knight, 2005), the pear ester ethyl (E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate (Light et al, 2001;Il'ichev, 2004), (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, and acetic acid (Knight et al, 2011), all of them host volatiles released by apple and pear.…”

A key compound: (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol as sex pheromone active component of Hypsipyla robusta (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

“…This indicated that the sex pheromone components of China populations of H. robusta were different from other regions. However, the phenomenon of (Qingyuan, Guangdong, China, 2014) insect sex pheromone variation is universal, such as Hemileuca electra (McElfresh and Millar 1999), Hyphantria cunea (Su et al 2008), genus Adoxophyes (Yang et al 2009), Cydia strobilella (Wang et al 2010), Spodoptera frugiperda (Unbehend et al 2014).…”

Antennal and behavioural responses of the spruce seed moth, Cydia strobilella, to floral volatiles of Norway spruce, Picea abies, and temporal variation in emission of active compounds

“…The single headspace sample used as stimulus for recordings was collected from spruce flowers in mid May, the peak of the flight season of C. strobilella (Wang et al, 2010;Svensson et al, 2013), using the same method as described above. and 0.25 lm film thickness; J&W Scientific).…”