Regional differences in pheromone responses of diamondback moth in Indonesia

Trap captures with two‐ and three‐component blends of synthetic sex pheromone for the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), were assessed in Indonesia. In West Java, the two‐component blend containing 10g of (Z)‐11‐hexadecen‐1‐ol acetate and (Z)‐11‐hexadecena| in a 4:6 ratio captured the greatest number of diamondback moths. Three and five virgin females were more attractive than the two‐component lures, which were as attractive as lures that also contained (Z)‐9‐tetradecen‐1‐ol acetate. In North Sulawesi, a 100 g dose of the two‐component blend attracted more males than the 10 g dose but was not significantly more potent than five virgin females. These results suggests that pheromone production and bioactivity should be assessed in separate populations prior to attempts to develop pheromone‐based monitoring or mating disruption programmes.