(E4,E10)-dodecadienyl acetate: Novel sex pheromone component of tentiform leafminer,Phyllonorycter mespilella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae).

(E4,E10)-dodecadienyl acetate (E4,E10-12∶OAc) is a newly discovered sex pheromone component of the tentiform leafminer,Phyllonorycter mespilella (Hübner). In apple orchards, traps baited with 1Μg ofE4,E1012∶OAc attractedP. mespilella in British Columbia andP. blancardella (F.) in Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. The compound was identified inP. mespilella by gas chromatographic-electroantennographic analysis (GC-EAD) of pheromone gland extracts, retention index calculations, EAD profiles toE3 toE10 dodecenyl acetates, and synthesis of candidate pheromone components. Even thoughE4,E10-12∶OAc was not detected in gland extracts by GC-mass spectroscopy, several factors indicate that it is female-produced. Antennal responses to gland extracts coincided with authenticE4,E10-12∶OAc on four GC columns with different retention characteristics.E4,E10-12∶OAc andE10-12∶OAc, a known female-produced pheromone component, elicited equally strong EAD responses. In field tests,E4,E10-12∶OAc was two to four times more attractive thanE10-12∶OAc. There was no additive or synergistic effect between the two components.