Field response of alfalfa looper and cabbage looper moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Plusiinae) to single and binary blends of floral odorants

Abstract

In field tests of floral chemicals dispensed singly, alfalfa looper moths, Autographa californica (Speyer), were captured in traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde, β-myrcene, or benzyl acetate. Cabbage looper moths, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) were also captured in traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde, methyl salicylate, or methyl-2-methoxy benzoate. In evaluations of binary blends of those same compounds, generally more alfalfa looper moths were trapped when β-myrcene was presented with phenylacetaldehyde or with benzyl acetate compared with phenylacetaldehyde alone or benzyl acetate alone. Similarly, more cabbage looper moths were trapped with β-myrcene with phenylacetaldehyde compared with phenylacetaldehyde alone. These findings provide new chemical blends for luring and trapping both sexes of alfalfa looper and cabbage looper moths and suggest differences in preferences of these two moth species for floral odorants.