Sex pheromone components of the European goat moth,Cossus cossus

Abstract

Female tip washings of the European goat moth,Cossus cossus L., were found to contain the following compounds that are structurally similar to known pheromone components of Lepidoptera (%): decyl acetate (1.5), (Z)-5-dodecenol (1), (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate (66), dodecyl acetate (12), (Z)-5-tetradecenyl acetate (14), tetradecyl acetate (4), and hexadecyl acetate (1.5). The washes contained an average of 125 ng of (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate per female equivalent. EAG responses to nanogram amounts of the identified products indicated that (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate was the most potent olfactory stimulant followed by (Z)-5-tetradecenyl acetate and (Z)-5-dodecenol, whereas the saturated acetates caused only weak depolarization. A strong EAG response was also recorded for (Z)-3-decenyl acetate, which was not detected in the female tip washings. Field results showed that (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate was essential for the attraction of the males and that (Z)-3-decenyl acetate improved the attractiveness of (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate alone or in combination with (Z)-5-tetradecenyl acetate.