(Z)-9-tetradecenal: a potent inhibitor of pheromone-mediated communication in the oriental tobacco budworm moth, Helicoverpa assulta

Abstract

The behavioural significance of (Z)-9-tetradecenal to male H. assulta was tested by comparing the number of moths attracted to lures containing a standard synthetic female sex pheromone with lures in which (Z)-9-tetradecenal was also added. The standard pheromone mixture used contained 1000 μg (Z)-9-hexadecenal, 50 μg (Z)-11-hexadecenal, 300 μg (Z)-9-hexadecenyl acetate and 15 μg (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate impregnated on rubber septa. Addition of (Z)-9-tetradecenal to the standard pheromone was shown to significantly reduce the caught of male H. assulta when added in amounts greater than 10 μg or 1% of the major pheromone component in both field and net-house experiments. The reduction in catch was found to be dependent on the quantity of (Z)-9-tetradecenal added to the standard pheromone. The implications of these results on conspecific and inter-specific pheromone-mediated communication in H. assulta and related sympatric heliothine species is discussed. © 1995 Springer-Verlag.