Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Baits – attractants – or lures
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-14
2002-02-05
Dees, Jose'G. (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Baits, attractants, or lures
C043S107000, C043S131000, C043S132100, C043S133000, C424S405000, C424S719000, C514S557000, C514S724000, C514S740000, C514S957000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06344191
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synthetic chemical insect attractants. More particularly, the invention relates to chemical attractants and use thereof to detect, survey, monitor, and/or control moths (Lepidoptera).
2. Description of the Art
Many species of moths (Lepidoptera) are pestiferous. Larvae or caterpillars of a number of species of moths are serious pests of agricultural crops throughout the world. In the family Noctuidae, in particular, are many species of cutworms, armyworms, fruitworms, and others that cause severe losses of vegetable and fruit, as well as forage, and fiber crops and necessitate the use of large amounts of pesticides to reduce these losses. Three important species in western North America are the bertha armyworm (
Mamestra configurata
), the spotted cutworm (
Xestia c
-
nigrum
), and
Lacanobia subjuncta
. These are pests of many vegetable and forage crops, and
Lacanobia subjuncta
has recently been identified as a serious pest of apple.
Efforts to control pest moth populations on agricultural crops have relied heavily on broadcast applications of pesticides which are under increasing regulatory pressure. Chemical attractants are widely used to monitor the emergence patterns and distributions of moths on crops. These are exclusively sex pheromones attractive solely to males. They are of limited use in pest control because of the lack of effect on females and because they are not effective as attractants when the same sex pheromones are used for mating disruption by air permeation. The development of chemical attractants for monitoring pest levels and economic injury levels of pest moths on crops has been hampered by a lack of effective lures for females of these species. Similarly, the development of control technologies involving mass trapping of moths or poison baits would be greatly facilitated by the availability of effective lures for females of pest species.
Numerous species of Lepidoptera, including pest species of moths, are attracted to fermented sweet baits. Fermented sweet baits have long been used by collectors of moths and butterflies (W. J. Holland,
The Moth Book. A Guide to the Moths of North America
, Dover Publishing, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1903, 479 pages; T. D. Sargent, Legion of Night.
The Underwing Moths
, Massachusetts Press, Amherst, Mass., 1976, 22 pages). Lepidoptera and other insects are attracted to natural sources of sugars such as fruits, tree sap, insect honeydew, and plant nectars (M. J. Norris,
Trans. Royl. Entomol. Soc. London
85:61-90 (1935)). It is generally considered that such materials must be fermented by microbes to become attractive, possibly due to the generation of specific odorants by colonizing bacteria and fungi (Norris, supra; P. J. Landolt,
Florida Entomologist
78:523-530 (1995)). Attraction of pestiferous species of Lepidoptera to such materials has been documented for possible use in pest control, and include several species of Noctuidae (cutworm and armyworm family). These are the corn earworm (L. P. Ditman and E. M. Cory,
Journal of Economic Entomology
26:109-115 (1933)), grass loopers (Landolt, 1995, supra), and the tobacco budworm (P. J. Landolt and E. R. Mitchell,
Florida Entomologist
80:403-407 (1997)). Large numbers of noctuids were captured in traps baited with solutions of molasses or syrups by W. W. Frost (
Journal of Economic Entomology
21:339-348 (1928)) who did not identify them to species. Isolation and identification of the odorants from fermented sweet baits that are attractive to moths would provide a useful attractant for use in monitoring and controlling pest species of Lepidoptera on agricultural crops.
Although numerous synthetic chemical attractants are known for moths, none are based on moth attraction to fermented sweet baits and very few are effective in attracting females. Most synthetic chemical attractants for moths are female-produced sex pheromones attractive to males (M. S. Mayer and J. R. McLaughlin,
Handbook of Insect Pheromones and Sex Attractants
, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., 1991, 1083 pages). Several chemicals have also been identified from floral volatiles that are attractive to both sexes of some moth species (primarily Plusiinae) that obtain nectars from certain flowers. These are phenylacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate, 2-phenylethanol, and benzyl alcohol (W. W. Cantelo and M. Jacobson,
Environmental Entomology
8:444-447 (1979), K. F. Haynes et al.,
Journal of Chemical Ecology
17:637-646 (1991), R. R. Heath et al.,
Environmental Entomology
21:854-859 (1992), C. E. Smith et al.,
Journal of Economic Entomology
36:619-621 (1943), M. Jacobson et al.
Experientia
32:964-966 (1976)).
The bertha armyworm,
Mamestra configurata
, is a pest of numerous crops, including alfalfa, flax, and canola (P. G. Mason et al.,
Can. Entomol
. 130:321-336 (1998)). It is broadly distributed in North America. The spotted cutworm
Xestia c
-
nigrum
also is a pest of numerous crops, primarily vegetable crops (J. F. Howell,
Environmental Entomology
8:1065-1069 (1979)) and is widely distributed in North America.
Lacanobia subjuncta
is a recent and serious pest of apple in the Pacific Northwest (P. J. Landolt,
Pan
-
Pacific Entolomol
. 74:32-38 (1998)) and is found across the temperate zone of North America. Numerous other species of noctuid moths are pests of nearly all agricultural crops throughout the world.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to chemical attractants for male and female moths. In one aspect, the invention is directed to attracting noctuid moths using an effective attractant amount of vapors of 3-methyl-1-butanol or 3-methyl-1-pentanol or mixtures thereof as a means for detecting, surveying, monitoring, and controlling moths.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to attracting noctuid moths using an attractant chemical combination to provide an effective attractant amount of vapor blends or vapor mixtures of (I) acetic acid and (II) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of 3-methyl-1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol), 3-methyl-2-butanol, and 3-methyl-1-pentanol. The volatilized blends or mixtures function as highly effective attractants for noctuid moths, and provide a means of detecting, surveying, monitoring, and controlling pest species of moths.
In one embodiment, the volatilized blend of the attractant combination is provided by a mixture of I and II. In another embodiment, the vapor blend is provided by a combination of I and II wherein I and II are positioned in sufficient proximity to one another to form a volatilized blend. In still a further embodiment, the vapor blend is provided by a single chemical, e.g., 3-methylbutyl acetate which releases a vapor blend of acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol into the atmosphere.
The attractants of the invention yield specific attractants for noctuid moths, and provides a means for detecting, surveying, monitoring, and controlling these pests.
The attractants of the invention are the first known chemical attractants that are broadly attractive for female noctuid moths. Thus, the chemical attractants of the invention provide the first means of monitoring females of pest moth species, for the purpose of optimizing the timing of control procedures and for assessing population densities. The attractants are also useful in devising control strategies for pest moths through the combination of attractants with toxicants to kill female moths. Because the invention results in the trapping or death of female moths, it directly removes reproductive potential from the field, effectively reducing potential populations of pest moths and saving crops from damage.
Exemplary of noctuid moth species are
Mamestra configurata, Xestia c
-
nigrum
, and
Lacanobia subjuncta
, which are found throughout much of North America.
Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the moth orientation to sweet food materials is the bases for their response to the attractants of the invention, thus foraging moths are l
Heath Robert R.
Landolt Peter J.
Choi Frank
Connor Margaret A.
Dees Jose'G.
Fado John D.
Silverstein M. Howard
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