Phermone Study on Astigmait Mites : XXIII. Identification of the Alarm Pheromone on the Acarid Mite, Tyrophagus neiswanderi and Species Specificities of Alarm Pheromones among Four Species of the Same Genus

Abstract

A mixture of alkenes : Z-6-pentadecene (61.0%), Z-7-pentadecene (35.1%), Z-6-tetradecene (2.1%), Z-7-tetradecene (0.7%) and Z-5-tridecene (1.1%), was identified as the alarm pheromone (active at 100 ppm) of the acarid mite, Tyrophagus neiswanderi, which is known as a pest attacking cucurbitaceous plants in greenhouses. T. putrescentiae possessed a similar mixture of alkenes which showed no activity against the same species, but did against T. neiswanderi. Hitherto, alarm pheromones of four Tyrophagus mites were identified as ester, ketone, aldehyde and hydrocarbons. These pheromones may be owrthy for the chemical taxonomy of these morphologically similar mites.