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Identification of the Sex Pheromone of Sesamia cretica Lederer

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Abstract

By using solid phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses, a sex pheromone blend for the stem borer, Sesamia cretica Lederer (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), was identified as consisting of (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol (80%), (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-yl acetate (10%), and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol (10%). The first two components had previously been discovered as attractants for S. cretica in field tests, but had not been identified in the female’s sex pheromone gland. A field-trapping trial showed that the three-component blend gave the highest catches of male S. cretica. This blend, in a sticky trap, was used to monitor a population of S. cretica in Iran, allowing the seasonal flight activity of this insect to be compared with that of a sympatric population of S. nonagrioides. The role of pheromones in the reproductive isolation of these species is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mohammad-Reza Malekzadeh from the IRIPP, Rahim Eslamizadeh and Mansour Reza-Gharib of the Safi-Abad Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center for helping us with the field work. We are grateful to C. Malosse for obtaining the GC–MS spectra. This work was supported by the French Embassy in Tehran and by the Center for International Research and Collaboration (ISMO).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, P.O. Box 1454, Tehran, 19395, Iran

    Arman Avand-Faghih

  2. INRA, UMR PISC,1272, Route de St-Cyr, 78026, Versailles cedex, France

    Brigitte Frérot

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  1. Arman Avand-Faghih
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  2. Brigitte Frérot
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Correspondence to Brigitte Frérot.

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Avand-Faghih, A., Frérot, B. Identification of the Sex Pheromone of Sesamia cretica Lederer. J Chem Ecol 34, 103–106 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9403-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9403-1

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