Sex pheromone of cranberry fruitworm,Acrobasis vaccinii riley (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

The following compounds and (approximate ratios) were identified in sex pheromone gland extracts of femaleAcrobasis vaccinii Riley by comparison of gas chromatography-mass spectrometric traces with those of synthetic standards: (E,Z)-, (Z,E)-, (Z,Z), and (E,E)-8, 10-pentadecadien-l-ol acetates (100:1:2:12), a dodecen-l-ol acetate (8), (Z)-8-, (Z)-9-, and (E)-9-pentadecen-l-ol acetates (3:23:4), two heptadecen-l-ol acetates (4:4), tetradecyl, pentadecyl, hexadecyl, and heptadecyl acetates (3:15:10:8), dodecan-l-ol (6), tetradecan-l-ol (5), and hexadecan-l-ol (23). The amount of (E,Z)-8, 10-pentadecadien-l-ol acetate (E8,Z10-15:Ac) in the extract was about 0.5 ng/female. Electroantennographic analysis of gas chromatographic fractions of female sex pheromone gland extract showed that the fraction containingE8,Z10-15:Ac elicited the greatest response. Alone,E8,Z10-15:Ac failed to elicit upwind flight of males in flight-tunnel tests, and traps baited with it did not catch males in field experiments. WhenE8,Z10-15:Ac was combined with (E)-9-pentadecen-l-ol acetate (100:4), male upwind flight response in flight-tunnel tests was equivalent to those obtained with extract of female sex pheromone glands (synthetic, 62%; natural, 51%), but the percent of males flying upwind that contacted the source was lower (synthetic, 47%; natural, 88%). The lower percent of source contact elicited by the synthetic pheromone could be a result of the difference in isomer ratios of 8,10-15:Ac in the natural and synthetic pheromone or could indicate that the synthetic pheromone is incomplete. Traps baited with the 100:4 combination caught large numbers of males in field experiments.