Identification of the larval aggregation pheromone of codling moth, Cydia pomonella

Mature larvae of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae), exit the fruit and seek sites suitable for pupation. Spinning cocoons in such sites, larvae produce a complex, cocoon-derived blend of volatiles recently shown to attract and/or arrest both conspecific larvae and the prepupal parasitoid Mastrus ridibundus Gravenhorst (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Here we report components of this blend that constitute the pheromone of fifth-instar C. pomonella larvae. Thirty-one two-choice olfactometer experiments showed that a blend of synthetic (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-nonenal, sulcatone, and geranylacetone, in combination with either 3-carene and/or three saturated aldehydes (octanal, nonanal, decanal), elicited behavioral responses from C. pomonella larvae. In on-tree experiments with corrugated cardboard bands as pupation sites for larvae affixed to tree trunks, and with laboratory-reared larvae released onto such trees, more larvae cocooned in those halves of cardboard bands baited with cocoon-spinning conspecific larvae, or with synthetic pheromone components, than in unbaited control halves of the bands. With the larval aggregation pheromone identified in this study, there might be an opportunity to manipulate C. pomonella larvae in commercial fruit or nut orchards.