Pheromone components from body scales of female Anarsia lineatella induce contacts by conspecific males.

Pheromonal communication of adult peach twig borers, Anarsia lineatella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), was reinvestigated based on recent findings that virgin female-baited traps were more attractive to mate-seeking males than a two-component synthetic sex pheromone consisting of (E)-5-decen-1-yl acetate (1000 microg) and (E)-5-decen-1-ol (100 microg), suggesting that females use additional pheromone components. Hypothesizing that these additional components may be released from body parts other than abdominal sex pheromone glands, we extracted female body scales and analyzed aliquots by coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC-mass spectrometry. Eight straight-chain and four methylated aliphatic hydrocarbons, as well as two acetates, all elicited responses from excised male antennae.