Female Heliothis subflexa (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Sex Pheromone: Chemistry and Congeneric Comparisons 1

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Abstract
Chemical, chromatographic, and mass spectral analyses of the heptane extracts of excised female Heliothis subflexa ovipositors showed that the females produce 11 compounds that are analgous to known Heliothis spp. sex pheromones. Seven of these compounds have been previously identified from female H. virescens. In addition to these seven, female H. subflexa produce the (Z)-isomers of 7-, 9-, and 11-hexadecen-1-ol acetate and 1-hexadecanol acetate. The ratio of (Z)-11-hexadecenal to (2)-9- hexadecenal found in H. subflexa was significantly different from ratios found in other female Heliothis spp. Chromatographic analyses of the heptane extracts of the ovipositors of F1 females resulting from the H. subflexa (♀) × H. virescens (♂) cross and female progeny form F1 hybrid females backcrossed 34 times to H. virescens showed that they both produce a blend of pheromonal compounds that is qualitatively and quantitatively similar to compounds produced by H. virescens females. Field and laboratory behavioral studies indicated that the C16 acetates and the ratio of (Z)-11-hexadecenal: (Z)-9- hexadecenal secreted by female H. subflexa play significant roles in the maintentance of the specificity of the female H. subflexa pheromonal signal.