Comparison of attractiveness in Japan and China of three synthetic pheromone blends based on geographic variations in the rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Field bioassays using three different synthetic sex pheromone blends (Indian, Philippine and Japanese) based on geographic variations of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenee were carried out at 11 sites in Japan and in Hangzhou, China. In all of the tests, only the Japanese pheromone blend attracted a significant number of male moths, while the Indian and Philippine pheromone blends showed no marked activity. The findings in Japan showed no evidence that moths of Philippine or Indian origin were able to migrate to Japan. The results from China also showed that most populations of C. medinalis in the Hangzhou region responded to the Japanese blend. This is consistent with the current hypothesis that most populations of C. medinalis in Japan are migrants from areas to the south of the Yangzhe Valley, including the region surrounding Hangzhou, China. Furthermore, populations in the Hangzhou region can not hibernate, but are considered migrants from the southernmost parts of China and southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam where they breed continuously. Consequently, at least some populations in these areas may respond to the Japanese pheromone blend.