Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2012
Male moths of Aegeria tibialis Harris, a lepidopterous pest of poplar cutting beds in nurseries, were strongly attracted to virgin females and to mixtures of Z3, Z13-octadecadien-1-ol and its acetate. Extracts of female abdominal tips yielded two fractions stimulatory to male antennae. These fractions corresponded to a C18 alcohol and a C18 acetate. Electroantennogram measurements using synthetic chemicals demonstrated that appreciable male antennal stimulation occurred only with C18 compounds having Z-unsaturation at positions 3 or 13, indicating that the synthetic sex attractant may be the natural pheromone of this species.