Attraction of Webbing Coneworm 1 Males to Female Sex Pheromone

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Abstract
Pherocon 1C® traps baited with live Dioryctria disclusa Heinrich females caught more than 900 male moths in loblolly pine seed orchards at Greensboro, GA, and Georgetown, SC, from 28 May-18 June 1979. Up to 25 times as many moths were trapped in the upper than in the lower crowns of trees of 9 to 15m tall. Peak catch occurred on 6 June with an average of 25 moths per trap. Females attracted males between 2400 and 0200 h e.d.t. the first night after emergence. Only D. disclusa males were trapped, although other Dioryctria spp. were active in the orchards. Mating periodicity may be a species isolating mechanism for sympatric populations of Dioryctria spp. with overlapping moth emergence. Our field data show that female D. disclusa moths produce a sex pheromone and provide the first evidence of the usefulness of Dioryctria spp. pheromones for capturing male moths in the field. Pheromones offer a convenient, inexpensive, and specific survey technique for these forest insect pests.

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