SEX ATTRACTANT FOR THE GORSE BIOCONTROL AGENT AGONOPTERIX ULICETELLA (OECOPHORIDAE)

No easy and reliable method of detecting the establishment of the recently-released gorse soft shoot moth (Agonopterix ulicetella) was available, so we undertook to identify an attractant. Pheromone sticky traps were baited with a wide range of lures based on sex attractants known from other species in the genus and trapping was conducted in Hawaii. Several blends with compounds in common were successful at catching moths. The most attractive blends were then used to determine whether the release of this biocontrol agent had been successful in New Zealand. Ten moths were caught at a site in Canterbury in September 1999 with Z5-decenyl acetate and Z7-dodecenyl alcohol (1:1). This is the first time that sex attractants have been used to demonstrate the successful establishment of a biological control agent within a country. Further tests in Hawaii have confirmed the above blend as highly attractive. It is now available and suitable for monitoring the establishment and spread of this biocontrol agent elsewhere in New