An application of the synthetic sex attractants from the series “EFETOV-2” for studying Procridinae in Italy (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae)

Abstract

The enantiomers of 2-butyl 2-dodecenoate synthesised in the Crimean Federal University are known as the sex attractants for Procridinae species (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae). These compounds, alone and in combination, were applied for studying the Zygaenidae fauna in Italy for four years from 2015 to 2018. We evaluated the effectiveness of the three following variants: EFETOV-2 (the racemic mixture of (2R)-butyl 2-dodecenoate and (2S)-butyl 2-dodecenoate), EFETOV-S-2 (the R-enantiomer alone) and EFETOV-S-S-2 (the S-enantiomer alone). The males of three genera of Procridinae were attracted to the lures from the series “EFETOV-2”: Rhagades Wallengren, 1863 (one species), Adscita Retzius, 1783 (six species), and Jordanita Verity, 1946 (four species). The sex attractants for species Adscita (Adscita) italica (Alberti, 1937), A. (A.) alpina (Alberti, 1937), A. (A.) dujardini Efetov & Tarmann, 2014, and one endemic species Jordanita (Jordanita) tenuicornis (Zeller, 1847) were found for the first time. Moreover, a hybridisation zone between A. (A.) italica and A. (A.) alpina was discovered by the application of the sex attractants. Rhagades (Rhagades) pruni ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) was recorded for the first time for more than 100 years in Piemonte and for the first time ever in the Ligurian Alps.