SEX-PHEROMONE RESPONSES OF THE ORIENTAL BEETLE (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE)

The synthetic female sex pheromone of the oriental beetle, Anomala ori entalis Waterhouse, was evaluated in the field and in a sustained-flig ht tunnel. In a 2-wk period, >150,000 beetles were captured on three g olf course fairways in Connecticut. Contrary to earlier reports that t hese beetles are most active during the warm, sunny portions of the da y, we observed that peak activity occurs around sunset. Ten micrograms of either (Z)-7-tetradecen-2-one or an 89/11 (Z/E) blend on a rubber septum was found to be the minimum concentration with which no signifi cant decrease in catch was observed in the field. There was no discrim ination between Z and the blend at 1 mu g and higher concentrations, b ut the E-isomer alone trapped significantly fewer beetles than either Z alone or the blend. These results are consistent with the flight tun nel data. The effects of temperature and light intensity on the mating behavior of A, orientalis also are discussed.