ABSTRACT
The sex pheromone gland extracts collected from calling females of Apamea apameoides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were analyzed with GC-MS, the electrophysiological and behavioral responses of the male adults to serial dilutions of sex pheromone components and their synthetic blends were investigated with Y-tube olfactometer in laboratory and in bamboo forest field. The results indicated that (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol were the functional components in the sex pheromone gland extracts. Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings showed that sex pheromone gland extracts, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol and the mixture of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol all could elicit strong EAG responses, and the average EAG values increased with the increasing concentration of the sex pheromone. The blends of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol at the ratio of 57:43 elicited a higher EAG value than each singular component did. The results of behavioral assay by Y-tube olfactometer accorded with those of EAG responses on the whole, and the mixture of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol at the ratio of 57:43 was more attractive than each component alone. In field tests with silicone rubber as pheromone dispensers (concentration = 10(4) ng · uL(-1)), the average number of male adults captured per trap by the mixture was (48.5 ± 6.7).
