Selection for increased pheromone titre in the pink boll worm moth, Pectinophora gossypiella Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The genetic basis of pheromone titre in the pink bollworm moth, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), was examined through artificial selection for females that produce greater amounts of the sex pheromone [a mixture of (Z, E)‐ and (Z, Z)‐7,11 ‐hexadecadieny 1 acetates]. Mean (±SD) pheromone titre increased by 91%, from 24.0±8.1 to 45.8±7.9 ng per female, in six generations of selection. No change in component ratio was observed within the selected line. The duration of male wing fanning, measured in a still‐air bioassay, did not change in the female‐selected line.