INSECT ATTRACTANTS AND THEIR USE IN METHODS OF INSECT CONTROL

摘要

The present invention provides the use of a fatty acid as an attractant in a method of attracting aleyrodidae (hereinafter whiteflies). By using a fatty acid as a whitefly attractant, it has been found that it is possible to attract whiteflies to a desired location. The fatty acid can be used in a lure or other propagator to provide a dispersion of fatty acid in the air, the variation in the concentration of the fatty acid in the air being such that a whitefly is attracted to the lure as the source of the fatty acid. In particular, it has been found that the use of a fatty acid as an attractant results in significantly higher levels of attraction, as measured by the number of whiteflies attracted to a sticky trap, as compared to the use of colour alone. A further application of the discovery that fatty acids are whitefly pheromones is in a method of killing the whitefly. This can be achieved by luring the whitefly to a whitefly killing device.