chemicals are also attractive. The response caused by such attractants may 
be useful in the control of harmful insects. 
The major studies on sex attractants have been conducted with moths 
(order Lepidoptera). Sex attractants have also been found in members of 
other orders--the Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants), 
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches), and Hemiptera (bugs). 
USDA and German researchers made some of the earliest studies of 
sex attractants, working on the gypsy moth and the silkworm, respectively. 
Adult virgin females of the tobacco hornworm, southern armyworm, salt- 
marsh caterpillar, European corn borer, pink bollworm, peach tree borer, 
lesser peach tree borer, banded cucumber beetle, cabbage looper, and 
hessian fly are known to possess some special substance that attracts the 
males. Chemists are in the process of isolating and identifying the attract- 
ants with the goal of synthesizing them in the laboratory. 
Sex attractants may be used in several ways for controlling insects as 
well as for gathering fundamental information about pests which might lead 
to their control. Males may be lured by the chemical into traps and then 
killed. A toxic material may be mixed with the attractant to destroy the 
males. And the sex chemicals may be used to attract large numbers of 
insects which could be collected, sterilized, and released among females of 
the native population to reduce pest numbers. 
Attractants are also being used in surveys to determine the presence 
of infestations and in capturing insects for the study of migration, ecology, 
and population density. 
The lures under investigation are highly specific in attracting only the 
males of the target species. Accordingly, this approach offers the possibility 
of controlling insects without adversely affecting other insects or man and 
animals. 
Gyplure 
The sex attractant extracted from the female gypsy moth was the first 
synthesized in the United States. A related substance called gyplure, which 
was also synthesized, also attracts the males. At present, the lure is used 
in special traps in surveys to determine the presence of the gypsy moth and 
the extent of infestations. Research is under wayto determine if the attract- 
ant might be useful for the control or eradication of the gypsy moth. 
Pink Bollworm Attractant 
Improved detection of pink bollworm infestations may result from 
laboratory and field tests using a natural attractant obtained from female 
pink bollworm moths. This was reported last year by U.S. Department of 
Agriculture scientists. A means of early detection of this insect is needed 
because a damaging pink bollworm infestation cannot be determined until 
the damaged bolls fail to open properly. 
The sex lure of the pink bollworm is located in the female's abdominal 
tip. Researchers have learned how to rear pink bollworm moths in large 
numbers on a synthetic diet, This is the first step in obtaining a supply of 
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