title: Sex pheromone of the saltmarsh caterpillar moth,Estigmene acrea.
abstract: Three compounds have been identified as components of the sex pheromone emitted by females of the saltmarsh caterpillar moth,Estigmene acrea (Drury). These are (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienal (I), (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienal (II), and (Z,Z)-3,6-cis-9,10-epoxyheneicosadiene (III). In female tip extract they were found in a ratio of 1∶6∶25, respectively, and in trapped female effluvia the ratio was 1∶6∶27, respectively. Combinations of III with either I or II elicited sustained upwind flight in a wind tunnel, but none of these compounds by themselves did so. There is evidence that the antennal acceptor site for III is chiral.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 14456, Geneva, New York.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Roelofs