Abstract
The attraction of fresh tea shoot odour and 15 volatile components emitted from tea shoots and tea flowers to the alate tea aphid, Toxoptera aurantii, was measured by a four-arm olfactometer and electroantennogram (EAG). The results showed that tea shoot odour and its components, e.g., methyl salicylate, Z-3-hexen-1-ol, nerolidol, linalool, n-octanol, n-pentanol, and hexanal, possessed significant attracting effects on the winged tea aphids, but geraniol and 1, 3, 6-octatriene-3, 7-dimethyl showed less attraction. A mixture of C5 and C6 alcohols, aldehydes, and esters, which simulated the "green leaf volatiles," could elicit strong EAG responses. It is supposed that the volatiles liberated from tea shoots play a role of attracting lures in tea aphids foraging and orienting on tea shoots.