Evidence of Farnesol as a Male Sex Attractant of the Twospotted Spider Mite,Tetranychus urticaeKoch (Acarina: Tetranychidae)1

Abstract

Males of Tetranychus urticae Koch are attracted strongly to quiescent female deutonymphs destined to become sexually mature. The male will remain until emergence of the adult female, when mating occurs. Thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas liquid chromatography (GLC) and mass spectrometric analysis of the crude ether extracts of deutonymphs revealed the presence of the sesquiterpene alcohol farnesol. Males were highly attracted to the cis-trans isomer of synthetic farnesol in bioassays.