Bicyclic monoterpenoids in the synthesis of insect pheromones as environmentally safe products for plant protection

Works on synthesis of some insect pheromones of beetles Ips and Tomicus - the most dangerous pest of coniferous forests - are carried out in the Laboratory of Organic Synthesis and Chemistry of Natural Compounds of the Institute of Chemistry, Komi Sci. Centre, Ural Branch, RAS, from the beginning of 2000. On the basis of widely available terpenes ƒ-pinene and 3-carene we developed and in some cases patented the methods for obtaining of myrtenol and myrtenal, cis- and trans-verbenol, verbenone (the parent compound for the synthesis of cis-verbenol), ƒ-fellandrenol-8. Jointly with the All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Chemical Means for Plants Protection tests of pheromone products are carried out. It is shown that both cis-verbenol antipodes exhibit biological activity, so there is no need for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure compound. For monitoring of pine beetles Tomicus we proposed a 4-component mixture of oxygen-containing derivatives of ƒ-pinene.