The plum cankerworm moth, Cystidia couaggaria couaggaria (Geometridae: Ennominae), is a defoliator of Chinese plum trees (Prunus mume). The pheromone components of the female were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with an electro-antennographic (EAG) detector and GC coupled with mass spectrometry. The crude pheromone extract included several EAG-active components, i.e., trienyl, dienyl, and saturated hydrocarbons, with a C 21 -C 25 straight chain. The characteristic mass spectra indicated the unsaturated hydrocarbons to be (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-trienes and (6Z,9Z)-6,9-dienes. In the fields, mixtures of the synthetic C 21 and C 23 trienes in a ratio of 2:3 and 1:4 successfully attracted males of this diurnal species during daytime. While the male antennae responded to the C 25 triene and saturated hydrocarbons, their synergistic effects were not observed on the male attraction in the fields. Addition of the C 21 diene interestingly inhibited the activity of the triene mixture. Males of Cystidia truncangulata, a sympatric diurnal congener of C. c. couaggaria, showed similar EAG responses to the unsaturated hydrocarbons, but no C. truncangulata males were attracted by the lures tested for C. c. couaggaria males, indicating that the identified hydrocarbons comprised the species-specific pheromone of C. c. couaggaria females.Key words: insect pheromone; Type II pheromone; (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-triene; geometrid moth; male attractionFemale moths of many species secrete a speciesspecific sex pheromone to communicate with their partners.1-3) This chemical cue plays an important role in attracting males of not only nocturnal species, but also such diurnal species as clearwing moths in the family of Sesiidae 4) and wasp moths in the family of Arctiidae. 5)Geometridae is one of the biggest families in Lepidoptera and also includes some diurnal species, while most geometrid females mate with males in the night-time.The plum cankerworm moth, Cystidia couaggaria couaggaria (Guenée) (Geometridae: Ennominae), is a defoliator of Chinese plum trees (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) and some other plants in the families of Rosaceae and Celastraceae. This univoltine species inhabits Japan, Korea, and China, and the adults appear in early summer. Adult flight of the moths is usually observed in the daytime, but the ecological aspects have not been thoroughly understood. To establish a monitoring tool for the pest insect of plum trees, the sex pheromone produced by C. c. couaggaria females was chemically analyzed. We identified the pheromone components of C. c. couaggaria females and evaluated the activity of the synthetic pheromone in a field test. We were also interested in the species specificity of the C. c. couaggaria pheromone, because two other Cystidia species, C. truncangulata (Wehrli) and C. stratonice stratonice Stoll, are distributed in Japan. Although it was not known whether the three species were sympatric, we observed the adult flight of C. c. couaggaria and C. truncangulata in the same field in Tottori Prefecture. We analyzed the...
The pear barkminer moth, Spulerina astaurota Meyrick (Gracillariidae: Gracillariinae), is a harmful pest of the Asian-pear tree. Pheromone components of the female were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with an electroantennographic (EAG) detector and GC coupled with mass spectrometry. The analyses of a crude pheromone extract and those of a fractionated extract on a Florisil column indicated three EAG-active components, tetradecadien-1-ol, its acetate, and an aldehyde derivative. Characteristic fragment ions in the mass spectra of the dienyl compounds and derivatives with 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione revealed double bonds at the 9- and 11-positions. By comparing the chromatographic behaviors to those of four authentic geometrical isomers, which were synthesized by three different routes starting from 1,8-octanediol or 1,9-nonanediol, the configuration of each natural component was assigned to be 9Z,11Z; i.e., it was concluded that the S. astaurota females secreted (9Z,11Z)-9,11-tetradecadien-1-ol (Z9,Z11-14:OH) as a main pheromone component, and the acetate and aldehyde derivatives (Z9,Z11-14:OAc and Z9,Z11-14:Ald) as minor components. This identification was confirmed by a field evaluation of the synthetic pheromone. While the male moths could be attracted to a lure baited with Z9,Z11-14:OH alone, Z9,Z11-14:OAc showed a strong synergistic effect on the attraction. Among the lures tested, the mixture of alcohol and acetate in a ratio of 7:3 exhibited the strongest attraction. Addition of Z9,Z11-14:Ald in the mixture did not significantly increase the number of males attracted. Furthermore, the field test indicated that some contamination of a geometrical isomer of the alcohol did not impair the activity of the binary mixture with the 9Z,11Z configuration.
Courtship behavior of the pear barkminer moth, Spulerina astaurota Meyrick Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae , was investigated under laboratory conditions. Female moths showed a calling posture, i.e. exposing abdominal tips with the wings raised, mainly in the middle of the scotophase. Mean mating duration of 26 pairs was 82.9 5.0 min. Males responded to virgin females by showing a series of six behavioral components; orientation walk with fierce antennal swing OW , orientation flight OF , landing on female LF , touching a female s abdomen TF , abdominal contact AC and copulation CP . One female equivalent of a crude pheromone extract and several doses of a synthetic pheromone universally elicited OW, OF and LF in 1-day-old and older males, mainly 4.5-7.5 hours after lights off, but 0-day-old males mainly showed these mating behaviors at and after 6.5 hours after lights off. While a similar frequency of OW, OF and LF was observed at various doses of the synthetic pheromone, the response of some males exposed to 10 and 100 ng synthetic pheromone stopped at the OW.
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