Reduction of Mating Potential of Male Heliothis spp. 1 and Spodoptera frugiperda1 in Field Plots Treated with Disruptants 2

Abstract

A close correlation existed between the reductions in capture of males by ♀-baited traps and the reductions in mating by females (relative to controls) of Heliothis zea (Boddie) and H. virescens (F.) in small field plots treated with (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol formate. Similar correlated reductions in trap capture and mating by Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) were recorded in plots treated with (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadien-1-ol acetate. When these 2 chemicals were evaporated simultaneously from separate dispensers in the same plot, mating of H. zea and S. frugiperda females was reduced by 87 and 92%, respectively. In small field tests, (Z)-l1-hexadecenal, a component of the H. virescens pheromone, reduced the mating of H. zea females by 85%. (Z)-9-tetradecenal, another component of the H. virescens pheromone, was ineffective against H. zea but reduced the mating of H. virescens females by 95%.