ARS | Publication request: EFFECTS OF TERPENOIDS ON THE OVIPOSITIONAL BEHAVIORS OF THE EUROPEAN CORN BORER, OSTRINIA NUBILALIS

Submitted to: National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 17, 1995
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Twenty-eight terpenoids and related compounds were tested in a laboratory assay to evaluate their ability to mediate the ovipositional behaviors of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. Twelve compounds deterred females from ovipositing. The sesquitepenoid farnesal was the most active analog. Six compounds attracted females and the sesquiterpene structural isomers farnesene and humulene were the most active. The other compounds tested had no effect. Many of the chemicals used in this study are natural products released in the volatile emissions of corn as well as other crops, and have a wide range of biological activity in insects. These compounds could be used in designing safe, environmentally compatible control methods for the European corn borer, a destructive pest of many agricultural crops.