Female Sex Pheromone of Heliothis phloxiphaga (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Chemical Identification, Male Behavioral Response in the Flight Tunnel, and Field Tests

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Abstract
Heptane washes of ovipositors of Heliothis phloxiphaga Grote & Robinson contained an average of 86.3% (Z)-11-hexadecenal (Z-11–16:ald), 0.4% (Z)-9-hexadecenal (Z-9–16:ald), 7.1% hexadecanal (16:ald), and 6.2% (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol (Z-11–16:OH). Flight tunnel and field tests showed that a mixture of Z-11–16:ald, Z-9–16:ald, and Z-11–16:OH (96.4, 0.6, and 3.0%, respectively) elicited male responses equivalent to those evoked by calling virgin females. The proportion of Z-11–16:ald to Z-11–16:OH in the pheromone is critical to elicitation of optimal response from males and it may also play a role in pheromonal specificity.