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Updated: Dec 9, 2025
Author Spotlight: Examining Volatile Sex Pheromone Influence on Male C. elegans Behavior
Published on: August 9, 2024
Optimization and field demonstration of the Lygus pratensis (Hemiptera: Miridae) sex pheromone
Tao Zhang1,2, Xiaofang Zhang1, Kris A G Wyckhuys2
1Key Laboratory of IPM on Crops in Northern Region of North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Integrated Pest Management Center of Hebei Province, Baoding, China.
Background:
The plant bug Lygus pratensis Linnaeus is a widely distributed polyphagous herbivore that increasingly attains outbreak population levels on cotton in northwestern China. Although the sex pheromone of L. pratensis from the United Kingdom has been identified as hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal, at a ratio of 100:25:24, this volatile blend does not prove attractive to Chinese field populations.
Results:
In this study, we identified and optimized the sex pheromone of L. pratensis strains from northwestern China. In coupled gas chromatography and electro-antennogram detection (GC-EAD) assays, three compounds within whole-body extracts of virgin L. pratensis females elicited antennal responses: hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal. In field trials, a 20:1:30 ratio blend was the most attractive to L. pratensis males.
Conclusion:
Traps baited with this synthetic pheromone blend present considerable advantages over traditional sweep-net sampling for L. pratensis population monitoring. It can readily be incorporated into monitoring schemes and integrated pest management packages.
