E)-Tetradecadienyl Acetate: Attractant Lure Blend for Dioryctria ebe/i (Lepidoptera: pyralidae)1

Feeding damage by larval coneworms (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on flowers and cones of pines can cause significant economic losses in pine seed orchards in the southern USA (Ebel et al. 1980, USDA Forest Service GTR SE-8, Asheville, NC). The south coastal coneworm, Dioryctria ebeli Mutuura & Monroe, is a common pest in seed orchards of slash pine (Pinus elliottii L.) in the coastal region of southeastern USA, particularly Florida (Ebel et al. 1980). With multiple generations per year, infestations of D. ebeli can be severe, especially in seed orchards infected by the southern pine cone rust, Cronartium strobilinum Hedgc. & Hahn (Merkel 1958, J. Forestry 56:651 ). Monitoring coneworm moths with pheromone-baited traps to time aerial insecticide applications can increase the efficacy of control programs for coneworms in southern pine seed orchards (Hanula et al. 2002, Can. Entomol. 134: 255 268). Sex pheromone-based lures are known for 4 economically important Dioryctria species in the southern states: D. amatella (Hulst), D. c/arioralis (Walker), D. disclusa Heinrich, and ' D. merkeli Mutuura & Munroe (Hanula et al. 1984, Environ. Entomol. 13: 1298 1301). A sex pheromone for D. ebeli has not been identified. Dioryctria ebeli was classified as either D. abietella (Denis & Schiffermuller) or D. abietivorella (Grote) until 1979, when it was taxonomically segregated from these species based on differences in morphology, ecology and geographic ranges (Mutuura and Munroe 1979, J. Georgia Entomol. Soc. 14: 290 304). Dioryctria ebeli is found in the southeastern USA, whereas, D. abietella and D. abietivorella are found in Europe, and western and northern North America, respectively (Neunzig 2003 in Dominick et aI., The Moths of America North of Mexico, fasc. 15.5).