Sex attractant pheromone of the sorghum plant bug Stenotus rubrovittatus (Matsumura) (Heteroptera: Miridae)

Abstract

The sorghum plant bug Stenotus rubrovittatus (Matsumura) (Heteroptera: Miridae) is a major seed pest of rice in Japan. Male S. rubrovittatus were previously shown to be attracted to traps baited with unmated females. The solvent extract of unmated females was analyzed by GC-MS using HP-INNOWax and HP-5ms columns, and retention index data and mass spectra of peaks detected in the female extract were compared with those of authentic samples. Three compounds, hexyl butyrate (=butanoate), (E)-hex-2-en-1-yl butyrate and (E)-4-oxohex-2-enal, were identified from the female extract. Contents of these compounds in solvent extract of females were ca. 18.6, 8.6 and 1.0 μg/female, respectively. In a field experiment, a blend of three compounds showed potent attractant activity to male S. rubrovittatus, although no binary combinations of the three components were attractive. These results suggested that these compounds are components of the female sex attractant pheromone of S. rubrovittatus.