Identification of Two Additional Behaviorally Active Gland Constituents of Female Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Sex pheromone biosynthesis in the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis: paving the way for biotechnological production

“…Field tests with sticky traps baited with live D. saccharalis females were already in the 1960s shown to reduce the damage on sugarcane in Louisiana. 74 However, it has also been shown in the field that traps baited with Z9,E11-16:Ald alone is much less attractive to males compared to live females, 15 and the newly identified four-component blend 17 has shown similar inferior attractiveness (P. H. G. Zarbin, unpublished data). Research on optimisation of component ratio and dosage in trap lures may improve attractiveness in the field.…”

“…Solid reports on field attraction to synthetic pheromone are missing, however, and suggest the need for an improved synthetic pheromone. 8,16,17 Studying how sex pheromones are biosynthesised by insects is critical for the development of biotechnological pheromone production for pest management. 18 Such production may have advantages over conventional chemical synthesis by being less complex, needing less specialised manufacturing infrastructure, using fewer organic solvents and expensive catalysts, and producing less toxic waste.…”

“…Three minor components identified from females, hexadecanal (16:Ald), (9 Z )‐hexadecenal (Z9‐16:Ald) and (11 Z )‐hexadecenal (Z11‐16:Ald), have been shown to elicit male antennal response and the more complex blends improve attraction of males in wind tunnel assays. Solid reports on field attraction to synthetic pheromone are missing, however, and suggest the need for an improved synthetic pheromone 8,16,17 …”

Bases conductuales para la identificación de la feromona sexual de Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius, 1794) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) en Cundinamarca, Colombia

“…Para el desarrollo de estrategias de monitoreo y manejo de este insecto plaga, es de vital importancia la caracterización de los eventos ocurridos durante el proceso de pre-cortejo y cópula (Farrell y Andow 2017). Palacio et al (2010), Oliveira et al (2018) y Silva et al (2021) han realizado estudios para la identificación de la feromona sexual de poblaciones brasileras de D. saccharalis. Palacio et al (2010) reportan que hay diversidad genética entre poblaciones de esta especie, provenientes de Brasil y Colombia, indicando variación en la composición de los componentes principales entre las dos poblaciones analizadas, razón por la cual las feromonas comerciales no ejercen atracción como fue verificado en el estudio realizado en condiciones de campo en Colombia por Barreto-Triana et al (2018).…”