The Sex Pheromone Blend of Caribbean Fruit Fly Males: 1 Isolation Biological Activity, and Partial Chemical Characterization 2

A blend of 4 components, 2 alcohols and 2 lactone esters, was isolated from 114,000 male Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). Pheromone was also purified from water washes of the holding cages. The alcohols contain 9 carbons and 1 and 2 double bonds, respectively. The lactone esters have a molecular weight of 196. A male contains 0.012 and 0.016 μg, respectively, of the 2 alcohols, and 0.12 and 0.41 μg, respectively, of the lactone esters. Each compound is attractive to female flies, and combinations of all 4 are significantly more attractive than combinations of 2 or 3.