IDENTIFICATION OF MALE-SPECIFIC VOLATILES FROM NEARCTIC AND NEOTROPICAL STINK BUGS (HETEROPTERA, PENTATOMIDAE)

Males of the Central American stink bug species, Euschistus obscurus, produce an attractant pheromone composed of a blend of compounds chara cteristic of North American Euschistus spp. and the South American soy bean pest, E. heros. The range of E. obscurus extends into the souther n United States, the species is easy to rear, and males produce an exc eptionally large quantity of pheromone (>0.5 mug/day/male). These fact ors made E. obscurus useful for characterizing the novel pheromone com ponents of E. heros without importing this pest species into the Unite d States. Euschistus obscurus males produce methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoat e (61 %) in abundance, which is characteristic of North American speci es, and methyl 2,6,10-trimethyltridecanoate (27 %), the main male-spec ific ester of E. heros. The chirality of Euschistus spp. methyl-branch ed esters, and field activity of synthetic formulations, remain to be determined.