Newly available Pherobank product, pheromone lure for Oiketicus kirbyi
Oiketicus kirbyi
English: Bagworm
Spanish: Bicho canesto
The bagworm, Oiketicus kirbyi (Guilding), is a major defoliator of oil palm plantations in the tropical Americas. The pest is currently present in Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. As with other bagworms, O. kirbyi has an unusual life history. Upon encountering a suitable host, wind-dispersed larvae envelop themselves in a self-constructed bag, which they enlarge throughout their development. Following eclosion, vermiform, apterous females stay within their pupal case and protecting bag, awaiting the arrival of winged males. To copulate, the male inserts his extensible abdomen through the bag into the female pupal case. Mated females lay a single egg mass within their pupal case. As in other bagworms, female O. kirbyi expel pheromone-impregnated scales (hairs) out of the pupal case into the lower part of the bag for attraction of males (Rhainds, link see below).
The female pheromone of Oiketicus kirbyi has been identified in 1994 as a mixture of (R)-1-methylbutyl esters (Figure 1) by the group of Rhainds (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02033712).
Our chemists have synthesized the pheromone and ready-for-use lures are now available from Pherobank.
For more information about this insect please see:
https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/37188
https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/OICEKI
https://doi.org/10.1080/09670870903180145
- Oiketicus kirbyi pheromone lure, Pherobank article #: 50463
- Only available as pheromone lures