Sex Pheromones of Lepidoptera: Seasonal Distribution of Male Pectinophora gossypiella1 in a Cotton-Growing Area 2

Abstract

The seasonal distribution of adults of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), the pink bollworm, in a cotton-growing area was measured using traps baited with gossyplure (a 50:50 mixture of the cis,cis and cis,trans isomers of 7,11 hexadecadienyl acetate). Male moths tended to congregate in cotton fields only when fruiting bodies (squares, flowers, and bolls) were present, and to disperse from the fields during early and late season. The presence or absence of cotton plants—and thus of a P. gossypiella infestation—in a given field during 1 yr had no influence on the abundance of male moths captured in that field during the following year.