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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #65185
Title: EFFECTS OF TERPENOIDS ON THE OVIPOSITIONAL BEHAVIORS OF THE EUROPEAN CORN BORER, OSTRINIA NUBILALIS

Author
item Binder, Bradley
item Robbins, James

Submitted to: National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/17/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

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.