Response of egg parasitoid Telenomus busseolae to sex pheromone of Sesamia nonagrioides

The olfactory cues involved in the host-finding behavior of Telenomus busseolae Gahan, a solitary egg parasitoid of the com stalk borer, Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre), were studied. The female wasp was attracted to odors from calling virgin females of S, nonagrioides in a Y-tube olfactometer. No response was elicited by noncalling virgin female moths and/or mated female moths. A four-component commercially available sex pheromone of the corn borer was also tested, as were the individual components of the mixture. T. busseolae respond to the whole blend [(Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z)-11-hexadecenol, (Z)-11-hexadecenal, and dodecyl acetate in the ratio of 8.5:1:1:2]. Z11-16:OH was the only compound that elicited no significant activity. These results suggest that the sex pheromone released by the host female S. nonagrioides is used by T. busseolae as an indirect cue to locate egg masses of this host.