Olfactometric assay of Acrobasis nuxvorella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The pecan nut casebearer Acrobasis nuxvorella Nuenzig (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is the most devastating pest of pecan Carya illinoinensis (Wang) K. Koch (Fagales: Juglandaceae). Previous research has shown that two blends of sex pheromones are effective at attracting A. nuxvorella. It has been found that one pheromone blend attracts moths in the southern US and in Mexico, while the other pheromone blend attracts moths in the US, but does not attract moths in Mexico. Using AFLP markers, it has been determined that these two pheromone races of A. nuxvorella are not reproductively isolated. Olfactometric testing was completed in order to determine if individual male A. nuxvorella would respond differently to the two pheromone blends when given the opportunity to choose multiple times (i.e. males were tested once per day for five consecutive days). The overall response of an individual was then compared to the genetic profile of the individual to determine if there was a correlation between behavioral response and genetics.