Moth Activity Periods and Identification of the Sex Pheromone of the Uglynest Caterpillar, Archips cerasivoranus12

Abstract

Archips cerasivoranus (Fitch) is an unusual tortricid species in that the larvae feed in large silken nests of ca. 30 to 200 larvae. Observations in the field and laboratory revealed that both virgin male and virgin female moths have a dispersal flight several hours before their mating period, which occurs at about midnight. The sex pheromone, an 83:17 mixture of (E)- and (Z)-tetradecenyl acetates, was found to be similar to that of other tortricine species.