Prospects for Controlling Gypsy Moths and Some Other Insects with Sex Pheromones

A current crucial need is to find ways of utilizing sex pheromones in the direct control of insect pests. Toward this end, a microencapsulated formulation of disparlure, the sex pheromone of the gypsy month, Porthetria dispar (L.), was applied by aircraft at a rate of 2 g disparlure/acre to a 24-square-mile forested area naturally infested with the moth. Captures of males in lure- and [femalesign]-baited traps in the treated area were 97-100 percent less than captures in a similar untreated area; thins, the odor-guidance system that helps males find females was disrupted. Also, mating of females set out in the treated area was markedly suppressed (compared with the untreated area), especially during the first 2½ weeks after treatment. Egg-mass counts too indicated that the treatment caused marked suppression of mating. Prospects and problems in utilizing sex pheromones and related behavior-controlling chemicals in the direct control of insect pests are discussed.