Mating stimulant pheromone and cuticular lipid constituents ofFannia pusio (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Muscidae)

Chromatograms of the cuticular lipids washed from newly emerged male and femaleFannia pusio were nearly identical. By the time the flies were 1 day old, the chromatographic profiles for the sexes were different. Mature females contained more C₃₁- and C₃₃-hydrocarbons than the males. The double bonds of the female monoolefins were mostly at the eleventh and thirteenth carbons, but those of the males were predominantly at the ninth carbon. Most active in stimulating copulation by males were the unbranched monoolefins with 31 and 33 carbons from the females. When they were synthesized and tested, the most active compound was (Z)-11-hentriacontene.A portion of a dissertation intended for submission by the first author to the Graduate School of the University of Maryland in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.Mention of a proprietary or commercial product in this paper does not constitute an endorsement of this product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the University of Maryland.