Abstract: Electroantennograms (EAGs) were recorded for male and female moths of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hünber. Lures impregnated with the sex pheromones (Z-11-16Ald∶Z-9-16Ald=97∶3) elicited greater EAGs from the antenna than the controls. EAG levels of females and males were 1.067mV and 4.32mV for the sex lures, and 0.67 mV and 0.66 mV for the control lures, respectively. There were significant differences between the sex lures and controls (female: t＝25.020, P≤0.01; male: t＝44.269, P≤0.01). The average EAGs of female moths increased with the concentration of the sex pheromones in the lures. Males that had their antennae removed were incapable of mating with normal females, while females that had their antennae removed had a mating success of 40% compared to 70% in normal females. In wind-tunnel trials male moths flew toward the sex lure at a rate of 81.8% and no moths flew away from the sex lure.

Key words: Helicoverpa armigera, sex pheromone, EAG response, wind tunnel