Putting Pheromones to Use

摘要

Entomologists have long realized that moth pheromones could be used to control pest moths, with the added advantage that natural enemies, like spiders, are left unharmed. In a technique called pheromone mating disruption, synthetic female pheromone is released in crops or orchards in sufficient quantity that male moths cannot find the real females. This technique is being used on more than 10 million hectares around the world. It's especially effective when all local farmers use it, as the apple growers of Washington State have done to combat the codling moth Cydia pomonella. As is o'ften the case, farmers turned to using pheromones when the moth became resistant to pesticides.