EVIDENCE OF AN ATTRACTANT FROM VIRGIN FEMALES OF BEPHRATELLOIDES POMORUM (HYMENOPTERA, EURYTOMIDAE) - POSSIBLE ROLE OF CUTICULAR COMPOUNDS

The Annona seed borer, Bephratelloides pomorum (Hymenoptera: Eurytomid ae), is the most important insect pest of soursop, Annona muricata L. The female lays eggs directly into the most recently formed seeds of d eveloping fruit where the larvae remain feeding until pupation. When f ully developed, the young wasps make a channel to emerge from the frui t, ready to copulate. Males are attracted to females and display a pec uliar behaviour which consists of three steps: antennation, lateral bo uncing and wing vibrations. Experiments carried out in semi-field and laboratory conditions showed that males also behave similarly in the p resence of filter paper impregnated with a hexane extract of the femal e's body, suggesting that female B. pomorum produce an attractant whic h enables males to find them. The hexane extracts of females, analysed by GC-MS, were shown to consist mainly of a mixture of straight- and branched-chain hydrocarbons and eaters. (C) 1998 Society of Chemical I ndustry.