Description

Abstract: Heptane extracts of ovipositors from lesser cornstalk borer females were found to contain 10 compounds: 3 C14 acetates, 3 C16 acetates, 2 C14 alcohols, and 2 C16 alcohols. Field-trapping studies showed that a mixture of these 10 compounds was as effective as virgin females in luring males into traps. Tests with combinations of these 10 compounds showed that a mixture of only 4 compounds, (Z)-7-tetradecen-1-ol acetate, (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol acetate, (Z)-ll-hexadecen-1-ol acetate, and (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol, was as effective as virgin females in causing male trap captures. Deletion of anyone of these compounds from the four-component mixture resulted in diminished male captures. Thus, male perception of the quaternary mixture is important for elicitation of behavior that results in trap capture, and the four compounds are essential components in the insect’s pheromonal communications.