The carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller, 1839), is the most critical pest of pomegranate in Iran. The sex pheromone components emitted by the virgin females were characterized by headspace solid-phase
microextraction (HS-SPME) and subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this research, the level of individual variation in the female sex pheromone composition of the pest was studied. By extracting pheromone glands of females from different locations, the primary component, (
Z, E)-9, 11, 13-tetradecatrienal, and minor components, (
Z, E)-9, 11-tetradecadienal and (
Z)-9-tetradecenal, were identified. The following ratios were 10: 2.5: 2.1 (trienal: dienal: monoenal) in Kuhdasht,
10: 1.3: 0.7 in Tarom, 10: 1.3: 0.5 in Bajestan, 10: 1.2: 1 in Sorkheh, 10: 1.1: 0.9 in Ferdows, 10: 0.9: 1 in Neyriz, 10: 0.9: 0.9 in Khash and Meybod, 10: 0.9: 1.4 in Saveh, 10: 0.5: 1 in Behshahr, and 10: 0.45: 0.43 in Shahrreza. There was also a significant variation among the populations in response to wind tunnels and field tests. The discrepancies in these ratios show a possibility of a conspecific relationship among carob moth species in Iran. Findings led to a conclusion of
the monomorphic variation in sexual communication of the species.
Article Type:
Original Research |
Subject:
Insect Physiology Received: 2021/10/7 | Accepted: 2021/12/20 | Published: 2022/01/8