L.M. SHANAB
Plant Protection Dept., Fac. of Agric., Mansoura Univ. , Egypt .

ABSTRACT

Diethyl ether, chloroform and acetone were used as solvents for extracting the sex pheromone of Lepidosaphes beckii females. The preparations in diethyl ether or chloroform exhibited a positive response to L. beckii males. The highest response was obtained by using diethyl ether extract. Moreover, the highest number of the ectoparasitoid Aphytis lepidosaphes was caught by this extract. Diethyl ether extract lost its biological activity after 48 h under field conditions. The number of males attracted in pheromone traps increased as pheromone concentrations increased. Under laboratory conditions L.beck i males elicited mating behavior in response to diethyl ether extract. The proportion of males which exhibited mating behavior increased in proportion to increasing female equivalent concentration.

Key Words: Diaspididae, L. beckii, Sex pheromone, Bioassay, Extract.