(3Z,6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z) -pentacosapentaene and (Z) -11-hexadecenyl acetate: sex attractant blend for Dioryctria amatella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

In 2006-2008, we tested (3Z,6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)-pentacosapentaene (pentaene) with the pheromone components (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:Ac) and (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:Ac), as sex attractants for four sympatric species of coneworms, Dioryctria Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in slash (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seed orchards in Georgia and Louisiana, respectively. The addition ofpentaene increased catches of male southern pine coneworm, Dioryctria amatella (Hulst), in wing traps baited with Z11-16:Ac, whereas catches of Dioryctria disclusa Heinrich in traps baited with Z9-14:Ac were unaffected by the addition of pentaene. The effect of pentaene on male Dioryctria merkeli Mutuura & Munroe was inconsistent. In 2006, pentaene seemed to inhibit attraction of D. merkeli to traps baited with Z9-14:Ac, whereas in a subsequent trial in 2008, moths were equally attracted to Z9-14:Ac with or without the pentaene. We caught too few Dioryctria clarioralis (Walker) in any experiment for meaningful analyses. Our field results with pentaene and the unresolved complexity of the taxonomy, ecology, and management of southern coneworms support the need for a comprehensive examination of the chemical ecology of Dioryctria spp.