Chemically mediated ovipositional behaviors of the european corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

The volatile plant sesquiterpenoids farnesene, nerolidol, and farnesol were tested to determine their effect on European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis, oviposition during the first six nights of the adult stage. Adult European corn borers were released into cages designed to encourage oviposition on eight glass plates randomly arranged on top of the cage: four coated with either 80µg/cm(2) farnesene, nerolidol, or farnesol, and four coated with the solvent methylene chloride. The setup was used as a binary choice test. Farnesene was preferred by females because they deposited significantly more egg masses on plates coated with the compound. Nerolidol had no effect. Farnesol, by contrast, deterred oviposition: the number of egg masses was significantly lower on plates covered with that compound. These data show that structural modification at a single terminal functional group in these compounds affects the ovipositional behavior of European corn borer females.