1DLO-Research Institute for Plant Protection (IPO-DLO), P.O. Box 9060, 6700 GW Wageningen, The Netherlands.
2Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands.
In the green capsid bug, L. pabulinus (Heteroptera: Miridae), males are attracted to conspecific females by means of a sex pheromone. Males are also attracted to mated females, even when the females are not willing to copulate. Hence, female L. pabulinus passively emits the pheromone. Extracts from different parts of the females were tested in two different bioassays, one to determine short range attraction, i.e. vibration behaviour of males, and one to determine attraction at longer range, an y-track olfactometer. Specific extracts were attractive to males in both assays. Fractions of these extracts were not attractive when tested separately, at least in the short range assay. However, when one fraction of a male extract was combined with another fraction of a female extract, males did respond again. These results will be discussed in the light of identification of the sex pheromone.