Disruption of Heliothis spp. 1 Mating Behavior with Chemical Sex Attractant Components 2

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Abstract
Three chemicals significantly reduced the mating success of female tobacco budworms (TBW), Heliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and disrupted courtship behavior of males when deployed separately or in paired combinations at the rate of 1 g/0.4 ha. These chemicals were (Z)-11-hexadecenal, (Z)-9-tetradecenal (Z-9-TDAL), and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol (Z-11-HDOL). Four other chemicals [(Z)-9-hexadecenal, (Z)-7-hexadecenal, hexadecanal, and tetradecanal] were deployed separately at the same 1-g rate in the test plots but showed little or no effect on TBW courtship behavior, as indicated by catches in traps. Amounts of the chemicals that actually dissipated during 60-htreatment periods varied between chemicals from ca. 23 to 84%. Based upon actual quantities dispensed and relative biological effects, Z-11-HDOL was the most potent chemical assayed. Male H. zea (Boddie) moths were caught in traps baited with virgin TBW females when Z-9-TDAL was deployed at 1 g/0.4 ha in different 4-ha cotton fields in 1978 and 1979. Male H. zea were also captured in the traps in 1979 when Z-11-HDOL was deployed at 1 g/O.4 ha and again in 1981 when only 0.7 g was dispersed in 60 h. This interspecific response did not occur when the other five chemicals were deployed separately at the same rate, even though H. zea males were in the fields.