Abstract: Pheromone of Lepidoptera has been studied in detail at home and abroad. This study elucidates the latest classification system of Lepidopteran sex pheromone components in which all the components are respectively categorized into TypeⅠ, TypeⅡ, TypeⅢ and Type 0. TypeⅠ, is distributed in many superfamilies of Lepidopteran, and includes alcohol, aldehydes and acetic ester compounds with carbon number ranging from 10 to 18. TypeⅡ is widely distributed in geometrid, and consists of unsaturated C₁₇-C₂₃ hydrocarbon and their corresponding epoxides. TypeⅢ simply consists of C₁₇-C₂₃ hydrocarbon with single or multiple methyl branches, and it was found only in few Lepidopteran species. Type 0 is short-chain second alcohol or ketone compounds that are analogous to plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At present, pheromone components of 158 geometrid species from 93 genera have been characterized. Except for Sterrhinae whose sex pheromone components are categorized mainly in Type I, the other sex pheromone components in subfamilies of geometrid are mainly categorized in TypeⅡ. Most of geometrid sex pheromone components have the long carbon chain scaffold and unsaturated hydrocarbons (TypeⅡ) in structures, which seriously affects characterization and field application. This paper clarities the double bond position, epoxy structures and chiral conformation of the geometrid sex pheromone components, as well as the distribution pattern of pheromone components among geometrid subfamilies, genera and species. The sex pheromone research situation of the important species in China was also discussed, which provides reference for subsequent researches on geometrid pheromone and effective green control of insect pests of Lepidoptera with sex pheromones.

Key words: Geometridae, sex pheromone, identification, application progress