Chemist Kamal Chauhan observes lacewings in a trap containing the pheromone he identified as iridodial. A natural attractant that can lure lacewings into farms and orchards is being commercialized. Dr. Kamal Chauhan at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, believes the attractant could enhance biological control of aphids and other small pests. He and ARS entomologist Dr. Jeffrey Aldrich, found that a catnip extract called Z,E-nepetalactone, which is a component of the sex pheromone for many aphids, attracts both lacewings and aphids. But, a relatively minor impurity from the extract, called iridodial, attracts […]