Chemistry of Insect Pheromones

In order to avoid environmental damage caused by the uncontrolled use of pesticides and because of strict legal controls on both their use and production [1] recently new methods of pest control, based on biological “insecticides” and therefore largely non-poisonous and harmless to the environment, have been chosen. These new techniques, which by the mid-70’s had advanced from the experimental stage in universities and research establishments to applied tests in agriculture, horticulture, fruit farming and forestry, make use of chemicals with which the behavior of insects can be manipulated and controlled [2–4], thus offering new possibilities of insect control.