Sex pheromone ofEupoecilia ambiguella female: Analysis and male response to ternary blend

Sex gland extracts and washes ofEupoecilia ambiguella contain 10–20 ng/female of the primary sex pheromone componentZ-9-dodecenyl acetate (Z9–12Ac), accompanied by a number of related compounds. These areE-9-dodecenyl acetate (E9–12Ac),Z-9-dodecen-1-ol (Z9–12OH), saturated acetates of 12, 16, 18, and 20 carbons, and traces of a doubly unsaturated acetate, tentatively identified as a 9,11-dodecadienyl acetate. Octadecyl acetate predominates among the pheromone-related components, making up 1–2, occasionally 20–30 times the amount ofZ9–12Ac. The same compounds were also found in field-collected females and in effluvia.Z-9-Undecenyl acetate, which is a male attractant on its own, was also found in a sample of female effluvia. A hierarchy is observed in the ethological function of the pheromone components.Z9–12Ac is an attractant forE. ambiguella males. Dodecyl acetate (12Ac) is not attractive on its own but augments male catch when added to the main attractant. Addition of 18Ac augments attraction only when bothZ9–12Ac and 12Ac are present. Windtunnel tests demonstrate that 18Ac also raises the disorientation threshold, as previously shown for 12Ac. Other compounds, with the possible exception of additional saturated acetates, had either no effect on trap catch or, in the case ofE9–12Ac,Z9–12OH, andE-9,11-dodecadienyl acetate, were inhibitory above a certain level. A blend of roughly equal parts ofZ9–12Ac, 12Ac, and 18Ac provides the best attractant blend forE. ambiguella known to date.