Abstract
Females of the mothEctomyelois ceratoniae prefer to oviposit on carobs,Ceratonia siliqua L., infested with the fungusPhomopsis sp. (Gothilf, 1964). An extract of the steam distillate of fungus-infested carobs was more effective in stimulating female moths to oviposit than was an extract of uninfested carobs. The extract of the fungus-infested carobs was found to be composed mainly of simple alcohols: ethanol (60%),n-propanol3 (15%), 2-propanol (2.5%), isobutanol (15%),n-butanol (2.5%), and isopentanol (5%). In addition, the extract contained a small proportion (1–2%) of unidentified compounds. All of the alcohols, with the exception of isopentanol, stimulated oviposition by female moths. However, the alcohols, when tested separately or as a mixture, were not as stimulating as the total extract. The unidentified compounds were less stimulating than the alcohols.
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Gothilf, S., Levy, E.C., Cooper, R. et al. Oviposition stimulants of the mothEctomyelois ceratoniae: The effect of short-chain alcohols. J Chem Ecol 1, 457–464 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988586
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988586