Exploration of D‐limonene as a sex pheromone for males of Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract BACKGROUND Bactrocera minax is a devastating pest of citrus fruits. However, there have been no effective control measures before. Few reports on the sex pheromones of B. minax are available. RESULTS In this study, nine of the volatile compounds in adult females were identified using headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) in combination with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Among them, d‐limonene, caprolactam, 2‐Nitro‐1H‐imidazole, and creatinine could evoke antennal responses in males. Field bioassays showed that only d‐limonene could lure male flies, with a relative lure rate of 78.18% in all tested samples, which was significantly higher than that of paraffin oil control, while all volatile compounds did not have any lure effective to female flies. Moreover, d‐limonene was diluted with paraffin oil into differential concentrations, the lure effect on males was better at 100, 500, and 800 μL d‐limonene mL −1 than pure d‐limonene (1000 μL mL −1 ). The relative male lure rate of d‐limonene at 100 μL mL −1 was 85.88%, which was significantly higher than that of food−baits (14.12%) on day 3. However, d‐limonene was unattractive to female and male Bactrocera dorsalis and Zeugodacus tau . Further kinetic analysis showed that female adults released d‐limonene around 15‐day post eclosion. Electroantennography 1 results showed that 500 μL mL −1 d‐limonene evoked the strongest responses to antennae of 10‐ to 25‐day‐old male flies. CONCLUSION Our results indicated that d‐limonene could be a sex pheromone from female flies of B. minax , and it could be used as a male‐specific sex attractant for B. minax. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.