Inheritance patterns for sex pheromone production in females, pheromone detection on male antennal olfactory receptor cells, and male pheromone behavioral responses were studied in pheromonally distinct populations of European corn borers from New York State. Gas chromatographic analyses of pheromone glands, single sensiflum recordings, and flight tunnel behavioral analyses were carried out on progeny from reciprocal crosses, as well as on progeny from subsequent F2 and maternal and paternal backcrosses. The data show that the production of the female pheromone blend primarily is controlled by a single autosomal factor, that pheromone-responding olfactory cells are controlled by another autosomal factor, and that behavioral response to pheromone is controlled by a sex-linked gene. F1 males were found to possess olfactory receptor cells that give spike amplitudes to the two pheromone isomers that are intermediate to those of the high and low amplitude cells of the parent populations. Fifty-five percent of the F1 males tested responded fully to pheromone sources ranging from the hybrid (E)'11-tetradecenyl acetate/(Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (E/Z) molar blend of 65:35 to the E/Z molar blend of 3.97 for the Z morph parents, but very few responded to the E/Z molar blend of 99:1 for the E morph parents. Data on the inheritance patterns support speculation that the Z morph is the ancestral and that the E morph is the derived European corn borer population.

Pheromone blend analyses of glands from individual female European corn borers,Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), from field-collected larvae or pupae associated with bivoltine flights in June and August and a univoltine flight in July have shown that: (1) a site in western New York has a bivoltine biotype utilizing (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate as its primary pheromone component (designatedZ), (2) two sites in central New York have mixed populations consisting of a bivoltine biotype utilizing theE pheromone isomer (designatedE) and a univoltine biotype utilizingZ, and (3) one site in central New York was found to have only the univoltineZ biotype. The combinations of voltine biotypes and pheromone strains found in New York support the existence of three European corn borer populations designated bivoltineE, bivoltineZ, and univoltineZ.

Sex pheromone behavioral responses were analyzed in a flight tunnel with European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), males from three distinct populations. Males from a bivoltine and a univoltine biotype using a 97.8∶2.2 blend (Z strains) of (Z)- and (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate were assayed with treatments containing 0, 0.5, 1, and 3% of theE isomer. Males from neither population oriented in the plume to the 100%Z treatment, but bivoltine males oriented and flew to the source to the other three treatments, whereas univoltine males oriented and flew to the source only to the 1 % and 3 %E treatments. Males from a bivoltine biotype using a 1∶99 blend ofZ/E isomers (E strain) were assayed with sources containing 0, 0.5, 1, and 3% of theZ isomer. Males did not orient to the 0%Z source, but oriented and flew to the source to the other three treatments. In addition to using opposite geometric isomers for the main pheromone component, the bivoltineE strain differed from the bivoltineZ strain by producing and responding better to 1 % of the minor component and by storing 3 times more pheromone in the female glands. Contrary to previous reports, the blend of two pheromone components is significantly better than the main component alone in eliciting oriented flight and close-range behavior with males from all three populations of European corn borer.

Extracts of hairpencils ffom male cotton bollworm moth were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography, acid methanolysis, and GC-MS. Ten components have been identified as: 14 1 OH, 14 : Ac, 14 : COOH, 211-16 : OH, 16 t OH, 16 * Ac, 16 COOH, 18 1 OH, 18 t Ac, and 18 :COOH. Based on the statistics of titer of each chemical, the total amount of three saturated alcohols is over 75%. The amounts of the chemicals in the hairpencils are related to the age of males. There are no chemicals identified in the extracts from males less than 10 h after eclosion, then the quantity of compounds increased rapidly during 48 h after adult eclosion. After 5 days, the quantity decreased.

The inhibitory effects of several alcohols identified from male hairpencil of cotton bollworm on conspecific male behavior responses were studied. In the wind tunnel dose tests ranging from 4 × lop4 to 40 pg, male moths of cotton bollworm produced the highest response to the binary components of 29–16: Ald and Z11 —16: Ald in a ratio of5: 95 at the dosage of 0.4 μg. When 211–16:OH was added to 0.4 μg dose of binary blend, 5% of the alcohol completely inhibited male orientation behavior. Further increment of percentage of alcohol in binary blend inhibited not only orientation behavior but also takeoff behavior. Comparisons among 211 —16: OH and other three saturated alcohols,14: OH,16: OH, and18: OH as well as structurally similar compound Z9–16: OH indicated that Z11–16: OH was more effective in inhibiting male orientation behavior than other tested alcohols. Field application of 211–16: OH decreased egg hatch rate from untreated 34% to 17% by spraying or coating the alcohal on plastic tubes.