Reproduction in the California Red Scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Homoptera: Diaspididae). I. Discovery and Extraction of a Female Sex Pheromone1,2

Abstract

A pheromone (or pheromones) that attracts males and rable in activity: a condensate accumulated in a Dewar elicits copulatory behavior is present in sexually mature flask by aeration of live females and concentrated to con- females of the California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii tain 7200 female-day equivalents; an ether extract of the (Maskell). Its release is not continuous and may be con- condensate containing 360 female-day equivalents; and an trolled. It was extracted from females in several organic ether extract of homogenized mature females containing solvents. An ether extract absorbed into drops of paraffin 100 female equivalents. An ascending thin-layer chroma- (dummy females) was attractive to males for several togram of an ether extract developed with u-liexane- hours, longer than when the extract was absorbed by diethyl ether-ethanol contained a spot with an lit of 0.9 filter paper. Male response to the pheromone prepara- that was attractive to males and elicited copulatory be- tions was similar to that toward intact females. Three havior. preparations that attracted the most males were compa- Although