Intraspecific geographic variation in sex pheromone of the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

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.