Stabilization of the thermo-labile sex pheromone of the painted apple moth, Teia anartoides

The chemical ecology team at HortResearch have successfully completed the identification of the sex pheromone of the painted apple moth, the first Australian tussock moth to be investigated with regard to the chemistry of the sex pheromone. A normal pheromone lure will usually last for weeks before it will start to lose it is activity. Unfortunately, the major pheromone compound, of the painted apple moth was found to be thermally labile at ambient temperature. As result, the synthetic pheromone blend was effective for monitoring this pest for only two days. Therefore, new research is necessary to investigate the possible chemical techniques for stabilization of this compound. The instability of the major pheromone compound may be overcome by generating this compound in situ from a modified form of the ketone. This would in effect be a continuous source of freshly made ketone, in the same way as a female insect.