Field evaluation of chiral isomers of the sex pheromone of the european pine sawfly,Neodiprion sertifer.

Among optical isomers of 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol (diprionol) acetate or propionate tested as synthetic attractants, the 2S, 3S, and 7S isomers were most effective in attracting the males ofNeodiprion sertifer in the field. The 2S, 3S, and 7R isomers showed weak activity, but the other optical isomers were not attractive. Capillary GC analysis showed that the natural pheromone from body extracts of females was identical with the synthetic acetate of diprionol in its GC behavior. However, the natural pheromone was about 100-fold stronger than the most purified synthetic acetate of 2S,3S,7S-diprionol in the field. As a result of various isomer combination studies, it was found that the acetate of 2S,3R,7R-diprionol, when added to 2S,3S,7S-diprionol preparation at a low concentration, increased the catch by the latter. It was therefore concluded that the above combination of the optical isomers could account for the major sex attractancy in this species.