Sex pheromone of tomato pest Scrobipalpuloides absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

The sex attractant of Scrobipalpuloides absoluta females is a 90:10 mixture of (3E, 8Z,11Z)-3,8,11-tetradecatrien-1-yl acetate and (3E,8Z)-3,8-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate. Tetradecadienyl acetates bearing 8Z, 11Z; 3E,8Z; and 3E, 11Z double bonds were synthesized by stereospecific procedures; the mass spectral and gas chromatographic properties of the 3E,8Z isomer were found to be congruent with those of the tetradecadienyl acetate from S. absoluta. In wind tunnel bioassays, a 10:1 mixture of synthetic (3E,8Z, 11Z)-3,8,11-tetradecatrien-1-yl acetate and (3E,8Z)-3,8-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate was highly attractive to S. absoluta males. Interestingly, the presence of (8Z.11Z)-8,11-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate (10%) inhibited the response to (3E,8Z,11Z)-3,8,11-tetradecatrien-1-yl acetate completely.