Terpenoids as Insect Attractants

Although the ability of certain monoterpenoids such as geraniol [699-702], the a- and /3-ionones [703], dipentene [704] and terpinyl acetate [705] to act as lures for particular species of insects was a serendipitous discovery, it is now apparent that a more fundamental basis for this activity probably exists with 

At the present time there would seem no definitely proven example of a terpenoid serving as an oviposition lure, but recently it was shown [709] that the triterpenoid cucurbitacins act as feeding attractants to phytophagous insects attacking plants of the Cucurbitaceae, which suggests that other higher terpenoids may also be found to possess this hitherto unsuspected activity. 

After the initial claim [709 a], as reported in the earlier review [1] that the Nassanoff pheromone of the honey bee was geraniol and a later claim [709b] that it was a mixture of geraniol with nerolic and geranic acids, it is now considered [20, 709 c] that the most important component of this scent is citral. 

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