Application of pheromones: toxicological aspects, effects on beneficials and state of registration

Abstract

Insects produce volatile compounds which are excreted into the environment and can act as chemical messengers between conspecifics. These compounds are called pheromones and they convey, among other things, information about sexual readiness from female individuals to their male partners, in which case they are called sex pheromones. Their powerful attraction and species specificity give pheromones a great potential for application in agricultural practice. In this chapter we restrict our atten- tion to lepidopterous sex pheromones whose possibilities for practical application have been investigated most extensively. Sex pheromones can be used in the following ways (Kirsch, 1988): . for monitoring purposes in traps; . for control by means of the attract-and-kill method, in which insects . for control by mass trapping; are lured to baits with a small amount of contact insecticide; . for control by means of mating disruption.