The synthetic sex pheromone of the almond moth,
C. cautella,
cis-9,
trans-12-teradecadien-1-ol acetate (
c-9,
t-12-TDDA), was permeated from 20 pheromone holders into a clear plastic box (36×36×36cm). The mating behaviors of 2 female and 2 male moths confined in the box were observed for 84hrs immediately after their emergence. When a sufficient quantity of
c-9,
t-12-TDDA (350μg each of 20 holders) was released the males could not orient toward the females which were, neverthless, in calling pose during each dark period. On the contrary, all females mated in the untreated boxes within the first 2 nights. When the dose of the pheromone in a holder was decreased to 35, 3.5, 3.5×10
-2 and 3.5×10
-4μg, the mating frequency and the number of eggs laid were increased to the numbers almost comparable to that of the untreated box. Therefore, it was concluded that
c-9,
t-12-TDDA can disrupt the sex pheromone communication in
C. cautella.
cis-9-Tetradecen-1-ol acetate (
c-9-TDA), an analogue of the sex pheromone, was also permeated into the plastic box and the mating behaviors of 2 pairs of
C. cautella were observed similarly as in the case of
c-9,
t-12-TDDA. The disruption of communication between both sexes was obtained, when the same amount of
c-9-TDA (350μg each of 20 holders) was applied. The sex pheromone showed its sex stimulatory activity at the amount of 10
-2μg, whereas the
c-9-TDA required 10
4 times as much as this dosage. It is very interesting that
c-9-TDA disrupts the sex pheromone communication with the same dosage as
c-9,
t-12-TDDA, although the former elicits their excitation with much larger dosage than the latter does.
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