title: Sex pheromones of two melittini species, Macroscelesia japona and m. Longipes: identification and field attraction.
abstract: Two Melittini species, Macroscelesia japona and M. longipes (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), are native to Japan, but occupy different localities as their host plants seldom grow together. The contents of the sex pheromone gland of adult females of both species, obtained after rearing larvae collected from the field, were investigated by gas chromatograph-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. Two GC-EAD-active components were found in a crude extract of M. japona female pheromone gland, and identified as (2E,13Z)-2,13-octadecadien-1-ol (E2,Z13-18:OH) and (2E,13Z)-2,13-octadecadienal (E2,Z13-18:Ald). The average ratio of these two components was about 1:10. In the field, M. japona males were attracted to traps baited with E2,Z13-18:Ald alone, but the strongest attraction was observed with a 1:100 mixture of E2,Z13-18:OH and E2,Z13-18:Ald. The same two components were found in extracts of M. longipes females, but in a markedly different ratio. Male M. longipes were attracted most strongly to lures containing a 20:1 mixture of E2,Z13-18:OH and E2,Z13-18:Ald, although some males were also attracted to lures with E2,Z13-18:OH alone. Although the two species do not generally occur in sympatry, our data indicate that, in the event of overlap, cross attraction of the two species is unlikely.
authors.affiliation: Entomology Group, Department of Biological Safety, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8604, Japan. chun@wakaba.com
authors.forename: Hideshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Naka
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ihomata
authors.forename: Kanae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugie
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuchida
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arita
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ando
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D012724:Sex Attractants; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012724:Sex Attractants