Sex pheromone components of purple stem borerSesamia inferens (Walker).

The pheromone of the female purple stem borer,Z-11-hexadecenyl acetate, identified by Nesbitt, was not active in field trapping in China. From EAG, TLC, GC, and GC-MS tests, we found thatZ-11-hexadecenyl acetate,Z-11-hexadecenol, andZ-11-hexadecenal were the pheromone components, and the preferred blend ratio in field tests was 4∶1∶0.1. The number of captures of the later generations was substantially lower than that of the overwintered generation.