Close-range attraction of female oriental fruit moths to herbal scent of male hairpencils

Science. 1981 Dec 18;214(4527):1359-61. doi: 10.1126/science.214.4527.1359.

Abstract

A blend of ethyl trans-cinnamate, methyl 2-epijasmonate, methyl jasmonate, and (R)-(-)-mellein, identified from the hairpencils of male Oriental fruit moths, attracts sex pheromone-releasing females several centimeters away. The chemicals thereby duplicate the behavioral effect elicited by hairpencil-displaying males during courtship; the chemicals also produce the herbal scent emanating from the hairpencils.