The oak leaf roller (Archips semiferanus Walker) sex pheromone complex: Field and laboratory evaluation of requisite behavioral stimuli

Reinvestigation of Oak Leaf Roller Sex Pheromone Components and the Hypothesis That They Vary with Diet

“…Similar EAG results were obtained by Hendry et al. (4) for a pooled sample of field-collected males.…”

“…We have studied the pheromone systems of many tortricid species, including a number in the genus Archips, and have found them all, so far, to consist of two to four pheromone components. Reports (2)(3)(4) on the sex pheromone of the oak leaf roller, Archips semiferanus, however, suggested that sexual communication in this tortricid differs decidedly from that in the others by involving at least 21 j;omponents. Moreover, the results of the previous A. semiferanus studies have led to a proposal of startling new concepts in insect chemical communication and evolutionary biology that demand evaluation.…”

Evidence for Origin of Insect Sex Pheromones: Presence in Food Plants

“…The primary chemical communication system under investigation is the sex pheromone complex of the oak leaf roller moth (OLR), Archips semiferanus Walker (Lepidoptera:Tortricidae), an exceedingly destructive pest which has seriously damaged oak forests in the northeastern United States (5). A series of 21 isomeric tetradecenyl acetates (6,7) were identified in the active sexual attractant fraction of the adult female; all isomers were active when tested on male OLR antennae by the electroantennogram (EAG) method (8). Seventeen of the 21 isomers proved attractive to OLR males when tested in field traps (8,9).…”

“…A series of 21 isomeric tetradecenyl acetates (6,7) were identified in the active sexual attractant fraction of the adult female; all isomers were active when tested on male OLR antennae by the electroantennogram (EAG) method (8). Seventeen of the 21 isomers proved attractive to OLR males when tested in field traps (8,9).…”

“…The apparent mystery governing the dramatic differences in pheromone content of isolated populations of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) in Iowa, New York, and Europe could also be explained by differences in dietary chemicals (3,33). On with the development of the OLR on various host plants (8). For example, during the past two summers, (Z)-10tetradecenyl acetate, a major constituent of black oak extracts, trapped a maximum number of OLR males 5 days after the maximum catch with (Z)-3tetradecenyl acetate, identified in initial tests of scarlet oak extracts (35).…”