The pre-excavation activity of the neonate larvae of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is typically confined to an arena that encircles the base of their egg stick. If the caterpillars are unable to penetrate the host plant within the arena, they strike off en masse in search of a more favorable site, marking their pathway with secretions from their mandibular glands. One component of this secretion, 4-hydroxy-2-oleoylcyclohexane-1,3-dione (an acylcyclohexanedione, ACHD), has been previously shown to function as a trail pheromone. In this paper, we report the characterization, synthesis, and bioassays of a family of 3-acyl fatty acid methyl esters (which we named cactoblastins), a chemically distinct group of mandibular gland compounds that also elicit trail following behavior. The relative effectiveness in eliciting trail following of the ACHD and six, chemically distinct, synthetic cactoblastins was determined. The most bioactive of the cactoblastins was also compared to whole mandibular gland extract to assess its ability to disrupt the aggregative behavior of the neonates and to serve as a biorational alternative to pesticides for managing invasive populations of the caterpillar.

Cactoblastis cactorum新生幼虫的开挖前活性（鳞翅目：Pyralidae）通常局限于围绕蛋棒底部的竞技场。如果毛毛虫不能穿透球馆内的寄主植物，它们会集体寻找一个更有利的位置，并用下颌腺的分泌物标记它们的路径。这种分泌物的一种成分，即4-羟基-2-油酰基环己烷-1,3-二酮（酰基环己烷二酮，ACHD）先前已被证明可以作为尾信息素。在本文中，我们报告了一个3-酰基脂肪酸甲酯（我们称为cactoblastins）家族的特征，合成和生物测定，这是一组化学上独特的下颌腺化合物，也引起了以下行为。在引起ACHD和六个化学上不同的，测定了合成的成膜细胞蛋白。还比较了最具生物活性的叶酸成膜素与整个下颌腺提取物，以评估其破坏新生儿聚集行为的能力，并可以作为杀虫剂的生物合理替代品，以管理毛虫的入侵种群。