Technique and Equipment for Collection of Volatile Chemicals from Individual, Natural, or Artificial Sources

Abstract

The major problem in the identification of semiochemicals has been the small amount of biologically active material in a large amount of chemically similar inactive material. Thus for identification purposes, there is a great need for a general technique and procedure that can easily yield pure, natural material on a submicrogram level. Rational application of these materials in insect control programs requires a knowledge of the rate at which the organism releases the material and then designing an artificial substrate which duplicates the composition of the natural system at a total rate of evaporation anticipated to achieve the desired effect, i.e., population density surveys or control by disruption of mating communication.