Air sampling of volatile sex pheromone components in a closed jar.

A cotton wool plug, used as the source for pheromone release, was placed in closed 1-quart Mason jars, either at the mouth or at the rear of the jar. Air sampling of the two components of the sex pheromone (total 2.2 mg at the source) of the almond moth (Ephestia cautella) female showed that the saturation period near the source in still air was 20-22 hr and that far from the source was 40-50 hr, reaching a level of less than 1 ng/ml air. The ratio between the components (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate, designated D, and (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate designated M, in the air was close to the original ratio for both sampling sites, albeit somewhat richer in the more volatile (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (source 77.0∶23.0 D∶M, air 73.0- 74.3∶27.0-25.7; source 80.1∶19.9, air 77.6∶22.4; source 25.1∶74.9, air 23.9∶76. 1 D∶M). The total amount of pheromone per milliliter of air was two to three times larger near the source than far from it at the early stages of the evaporation and saturation process. When the amount of pheromone applied to the source was tripled (7 mg), the amount far from the source was almost tripled, or the saturation time was cut by factor of two to three.