Sex pheromone of tobacco stem borer,Scrobipalpa heliopa (Lower) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae).

The major volatile component in the extract of the female sex pheromone gland ofScrobipalpa heliopa was shown to be (E)-3-tridecen-1-ol acetate (V). The identification was based on mass spectral analyses, comparison of retention times with those of synthetic compounds on polar, nonpolar, and liquid crystal gas chromatographic columns and microchemical studies. The latter included hydrolysis and reacetylation, and mass spectral studies of the derivatives formed by epoxidation and methoxymercuration-demercuration. Analysis of gland extracts by gas chromatography linked to electroantennography showed this component to be the only one with significant biological activity, similar to that of the synthetic compound. (E)-3-Tridecenyl acetate (V) attracted male moths to traps in the field while addition of theZ isomer (III) reduced the numbers of moths caught.