Active substances were screened out from the volatile compounds of mulberry leaves that have an Oviposition-attracting effect on female Glyphodes pyloalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

In modern agriculture, both the “3R” (Resistance/Residue/Resurgence) problems caused by chemical insecticides and the issue that commercial sex pheromone attractants only lure male moths have driven researchers to urgently seek safer and more environmentally friendly alternatives. In this study, dynamic headspace adsorption method combined with GC-MS was employed to collect and identify volatile organic compounds emitted by mulberry leaves from different cultivars selected by female Glyphodes pyloalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) (Walker, 1859) for oviposition. Subsequently, qualitative screening of active components with oviposition-attracting effects on female G. pyloalis was conducted using an EAG apparatus, a three-arm olfactometer, a wind tunnel device, and field trapping experiments. The results indicate that female G. pyloalis exhibit a strong preference for oviposition on mulberry varieties JS, XJ5, SH1, and Y1. Among the identified leaf volatiles, four compounds inciuding Hexacosane, Butyl acrylate, (E)-3-Hexen-1-ol, and 4-Hexen-1-ol, 1- acetate, elicited significant EAG responses and behavioral attraction in female moths. Specifically, compared with the CK, Butyl acrylate at a concentration of 10.0 μg/μL and (E)-3-Hexen-1-ol at 100.0 μg/μL produced the highest responses, with EAG amplitudes of 689.90 × 10−3 mV and 620.22 × 10−3 mV, respectively, the selection rates of female moths to them were 78.95% and 76.19%. Further screening and verification experiments confirmed that the optimal ratio of the novel “female moth-specific attractant” was Butyl acrylate: (E)-3-Hexen-1-ol = 19.627%: 15.189%. These findings provide a scientific foundation for exploring the host location mechanism of female G. pyloalis during oviposition and developing novel biological control technologies.