The Annona fruit borer, Cerconota anonella Sepp., is a serious agricultural pest in many tropical areas of the world. The identification of an attractant for male C. anonella could offer new methods for pest detection and control. A mixture of compounds extracted from female C. anonella elicited antennal depolarization in the male borer. These compounds were identified as octadecanal, 1-octadecanol, octadecyl acetate, (Z)-octadec-9-enal (Z9-18:Ald), (Z)-octadec-9-en-1-ol (Z9-18:OH) and [(Z)-octadec-9-enyl] acetate (Z9-18:Ac) by one-and two-dimensional gas chromatographymass spectrometry. In laboratory bioassays, synthetic individual compounds as well as synthetic mixtures were found to be attractive to males. In addition, field tests using Delta traps with 1 mg of the ternary mixture composed of Z9-18:Ac, Z9-18:Ald and Z9-18:OH in the ratio of 1 : 3 : 5 caught as many males as traps containing virgin females. The ternary mixture of Z9-18:Ac, Z9-18:Ald and Z9-18:OH was identified as attractant to C. anonella males and can be used to detect and control populations of this insect in Annonaceae plantations.

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae), is a worldwide pest of livestock. Recent outbreaks of stable flies in sugarcane fields in Brazil have become a serious problem for livestock producers. Larvae and pupae found inside sugarcane stems after harvesting may indicate that stable flies use these stems as potential oviposition or larval development sites. Field observations suggest that outbreaks of stable flies are associated with the vinasse and filter cake derived from biomass distillation in sugarcane ethanol production that are used as fertilizers in sugarcane fields. Adult stable flies are attracted to vinasse, which appears to present an ideal larval development site. The primary goal of the present study is to demonstrate the role of vinasse in influencing the sensory physiological and behavioural responses of stable flies, and to identify its associated volatile attractant compounds. Both laboratory and field studies showed that vinasse is extremely attractive to adult stable flies. Chemical analyses of volatiles collected revealed a wide range of carboxylic acids, alcohols, phenols and aldehydes as potential attractant compounds. These newly identified attractants could be used to develop a tool for the attractant-baited mass trapping of stable flies in order to reduce infestations.