Individual variation in sex pheromone of smaller tea tortrix moth,Adoxophyes sp. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

Female smaller tea tortrix mothsAdoxophyes sp. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), which initiated calling at 1, 2, or 3 days old, respectively, were analyzed individually for (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-14:OAc) and (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14: OAc) in the pheromone gland via GLC. Among different age groups, broad and similar distributions were found for pheromone quantity (¯X=58.6±52.9 ng/female; range 1.3-219.8 ng/female). The ratio of the two pheromone components averaged 65∶35 but ranged from 84∶16 to 40∶60. The significance of the pheromone blend variation to the attraction of males was tested in a field experiment. The ratio of males trapped by the most attractive blend versus the least attractive one was 2.2.