Attraction of male Lymantria schaeferi Schintlmeister (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae) to traps baited with (+)-xylinalure in Jiangxi Province, China

Our objective was to investigate potential sex attractants for Lymantria schaeferi Schintlmeister (Lexpidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae). In a field trapping experiment deployed in the Wuyi Mountains near Xipaihe, Jiangxi Province, China, traps were baited with synthetic sex pheromone of congeners L. dispar [(+)-disparlure], L. xylina [(+)-xylinalure] or L. monacha [a blend of (+)-disparlure, (+)-monachalure and 2-methyl-Z7-octadecene]. Traps baited with (+)xylinalure captured 24 males of L. schaeferi, whereas traps baited with (+)-disparlure captured two males of L. dispar asiatica. These findings support molecular evidence that L. schaeferi is more closely related to L. xylina, which uses (+)-xylinalure for sexual communication, than it is to L. dispar asiatica, which uses (+)-disparlure for sexual communication. These findings also support the conclusion that L. schaeferi and L. dispar asiatica are sympatric in the Wuyi Mountains.