IDENTIFICATION AND FIELD EVALUATION OF THE COMPOUNDS COMPRISING THE SEX-PHEROMONE OF THE FEMALE BOLL-WEEVIL

The terpenoid compounds (+)-cis-2-isopropenyl-1-methylcyclo-butaneethanol (I), (Z)-3,3-dimethyl-A-cyclohexaneethanol (II), and β-caryophyllene were isolated from frass of the female boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman). In laboratory bioassays, a mixture of these components attracted primarily males, whereas the male pheromone, grandlure, attracted primarily females. The addition to the cotton bud hydrocarbons, α-pinene, myrcene, and l-lim-nene, improved the response by males so that the potency of the mixture was comparable to that of grandlure for females. In field tests, I + II + hydrocarbons attracted both sexes, but grandlure alone and grandlure + hydrocarbons were more effective. © 1979 Plenum Publishing Corporation.