Early Spring Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Captured in Traps Baited with (Z)-11-Hexadecenal

Abstract

Summary (Z) -11-Hexadecenal (Z11-16ALD) is a component of the sex pheromone, or a sex attractant, of a number of moth species. Traps baited with this compound in early spring in eastern Washington State captured numbers of males of Egira rubrica (Harvey), Stretchia plusiaeformis (H. Edwards), and Annaphila danisticta (Grote) (all Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), indicating its function as a sex attractant for these species. This new knowledge may be important to pest managers that monitor moths with Z11-16ALD because such non-target responders to a lure can increase monitoring costs and be counted as "false positives" for pest species.