Sex pheromone of the fruit-piercing moth, Oraesia excavata (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Isolation and identification

Two compounds were isolated, as sex pheromone components, from the abdominal tips of the female fruit-piercing moth, Oraesia excavata (BUTLER). The major component A was identified as cis-9, 10-epoxy-(Z)-6-heneicosene. The minor component B was tentatively characterized as cis-9, 10-epoxy-(Z, Z)-3, 6-heneicosadiene. They were found in a ratio of 86:14 in female tip extracts. Natural components A and B in the natural ratio released male precopulatory behaviors including orientation flight and extension of clasper, but they showed weak pheromone activities when applied separately. In contrast, synthesized racemic component A, with and without synthetic component B (in ratios from 85:15 to 100:0), elicited a typical male precopulatory behavior. Synthetic component b alone did not initiate male response.