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Major Sex Pheromone Components of the Australian Gum Leaf Skeletonizer Uraba lugens: (10E,12Z)-Hexadecadien-1-yl Acetate and (10E,12Z)-Hexadecadien-1-ol

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Abstract

Two sex pheromone components of the gum leaf skeletonizer, Uraba lugens (Lepidoptera: Nolidae), recently established in New Zealand, were identified. Gas chromatography (GC) electroantennographic detection analyses of female pheromone gland extracts gave three compounds that consistently elicited antennal responses. Chemical analyses, using GC and GC–mass spectrometry, in conjunction with 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione and dimethyldisulfide derivatizations, identified these compounds as (10E,12Z)-hexadecadien-1-yl acetate (E10,Z12–16:Ac), (10E,12Z)-hexadecadien-1-ol (E10,Z12–16:OH), and (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-yl acetate (Z11–16:Ac). A trapping trial in Queensland, Australia, in 2002, indicated that a blend of the two major components E10,Z12–16:Ac and E10,Z12–16:OH could attract gum leaf skeletonizer males. In the same trial, E10,Z12–16:Ac alone trapped large numbers of an unidentified nolid, Nola spp. Further trials in Auckland, New Zealand established that these two components were sufficient and necessary for trap catch of males; adding minor gland components, (10E,12E)-hexadecadien-1-yl acetate (E10,E12–16:Ac), Z11–16:Ac, or octadecan-1-ol (18:OH), to the two-component lure did not result in increased trap catches. Behavioral observations and gland analyses of the Auckland population revealed that female moths begin calling soon after emergence, with peak calling and pheromone production occurring 7 hr into the scotophase. Analysis of gland extract at two-hourly intervals during the first activity period showed that the ratio of E10,Z12–16:Ac to E10,Z12–16:OH (mean of 86: 14, respectively) and pheromone titer were fairly constant. No qualitative or quantitative differences in pheromone components were detected between gland extracts from Tasmanian univoltine and Auckland bivoltine populations of U. lugens.

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Acknowledgments

We thank John Allen (HortResearch) for initial GC-MS analysis, AgriQuality personnel, Andréa Stephens, and Asha Chagan (HortResearch) for technical assistance in the field in Auckland, and John Bain (Ensis) for supplying the initial egg batches. Luke Rapley and Anthony Rice from the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Production Forestry in Hobart, Tasmania reared the Tasmanian U. lugens pupae. Robert Hoare (Landcare Research) and Ian Common (retired, formerly CSIRO) confirmed the identity of the specimens. Funding was provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST), under “Better Border Biosecurity” (www.b3.org) and previous programs.

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Author notes

  1. Simon Fielder

    Present address: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd, 393 Darling Street, Balmain, New South Wales, 2041, Australia

  2. Darren J. Kriticos

    Present address: CSIRO Forest Biosciences, P.O. Box E4008, Kingston, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd., P.O. Box 51, Lincoln, New Zealand

    Andrew R. Gibb & David M. Suckling

  2. Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd., Private Bag 11 030, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Simon Fielder & Barry Bunn

  3. Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd., Private Bag 92 169, Mt Albert, Auckland, New Zealand

    Lisa E. Jamieson

  4. Bugs Ed., P.O. Box 446, The Gap, Brisbane, Queensland, 4061, Australia

    Michelle L. Larsen

  5. School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Gimme H. Walter

  6. Ensis, Forest Biosecurity and Protection, PB 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand

    Darren J. Kriticos

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  1. Andrew R. Gibb
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Correspondence to David M. Suckling.

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Gibb, A.R., Suckling, D.M., Fielder, S. et al. Major Sex Pheromone Components of the Australian Gum Leaf Skeletonizer Uraba lugens: (10E,12Z)-Hexadecadien-1-yl Acetate and (10E,12Z)-Hexadecadien-1-ol. J Chem Ecol 34, 1125–1133 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9523-2

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