Identification of the sex pheromone of the guernsey carpet beetle,Anthrenus sarnicus Mroczkowski (Coleoptera: Dermestidae).

It has been confirmed that adult virgin females ofAnthrenus sarnicus Mroczkowski exhibit a characteristic headstand posture that is associated with the release of a sex pheromone. Volatiles trapped on filter papers suspended above calling females were attractive to adult virgin males when tested in a two-choice target bioassay. Separate aeration extracts of males and females were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and showed that decanol and decyln-butyrate were released by females only. These components were present in approximately equal amounts and accounted for about 90% of the total area of the chromatogram. Decyl butyrate produced an electroantennogram response with a larger response from males than females. Behaviorally, a mixture of 10μg of decanol and 10μg of decyl butyrate attracted 88% of males and 10μg of decyl butyrate alone attracted 82% of males in the bioassay. The role of decyl butyrate as a sex pheromone is convincing, but this is not the case for decanol.