Demonstration and Extraction of a Sex Attractant from Female Angoumois Grain Moths1

Abstract

Using a modified “Y-choice” olfactometer, it was demonstrated that female Angoumois grain moths, Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier), produce a substance attractive to males. Overt male reactions included darting about, rapid wing whining, and attempts to copulate with nearby objects, including other males. Sticky-trap tests demonstrated that virgin females were more attractive than mated females of the same age. Females were not attractive until at least 20 minutes old, but many continued to be slightly attractive several hours after death. Attractiveness was greatest between 48 and 77 hours after emergence, when males exhibited frequent mating dances lasting up to 30 seconds. Solvent extracts of homogenized female moths were attractive to males. Benzene and ethyl ether extracts were the most attractive with methylene chloride and acetone extracts much less attractive. Samples of 0.1 female-equivalent were as attractive as single live virgin females in sticky-trap bioassays.