Diel rhythms of sexual behavior and pheromone responses in Phauda flammans Walker (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae)

Phauda flammans Walker is a notorious defoliating pest of Ficus spp. in Southeast Asian. Sex pheromones have been identified as an effective method of biological control. However, little is known about the sex pheromone communication of P. flammans due to a lack of knowledge regarding the diel rhythms of sexual behavior and a lack of field tests using sex pheromone attractants.

Adults of P. flammans eclosed from 6:00 to 16:00 h with a peak at 11:00-12:00 h and mated from 9:00 to 19:00 h with a peak at 14:00-15:00 h. The attraction of virgin males to P. flammans females suggested the utilization of sex pheromones. We identified Z-9-hexadecenal and (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienal as the primary components and found that they elicited the largest electroantennographic detection responses from the antennae of males. Field tests confirmed that P. flammans males can be captured by the two synthetic pheromone components at a ratio of 1:1. The capture of only males in field tests using the synthetic compounds confirmed the activity of the identified sex pheromone candidates.

The results provide useful information for the design of standardized sex pheromone traps for the monitoring as well as trapping of P. flammans in the field. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.