IDENTIFICATION AND SYNTHESIS OF FEMALE SEX-PHEROMONE OF ORIENTAL BEETLE, ANOMALA-ORIENTALIS (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE)

Females of the Oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis (Waterhouse), relea se a sex pheromone composed of a 9:1 blend of (Z)- and (E)-7-tetradece n-2-one. The double-bond position of the pheromone was determined by D MDS derivatization and interpretation of the fragmentation patterns pr oduced by monounsaturated ketones. In a sustained-flight tunnel, males responded by flying toward female beetles and attempting to copulate with them. Both effluvium and whole-body extracts of OB females were a nalyzed, and the activity was found only in the airborne extracts. Fli ght-tunnel bioassays also showed that a synthetic 90:10 Z/E blend on a rubber septum was attractive and that the responses of males to this blend were equivalent to Z isomer alone, but much better than to the s ingle E isomer.