The study was conducted in the central Kola Peninsula, northwestern Russia, within the subarctic boreal forest zone. Three sites were selected from those used by Kozlov et al. (1996, 2022) to represent the range of moth communities shaped by vegetation type and environmental disturbance.

The first site, located 17 km south of Monchegorsk (67°46'37"N, 32°47'53"E), was a sparse, dry Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest severely damaged by emissions from the copper–nickel smelter in Monchegorsk. The second site, 27 km south of Monchegorsk (67°40'39"N, 32°49'32"E), comprised sparse Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) – mountain birch (Betula pubescens var. pumila (G. Zanoni ex Murray) Govaerts) forest slightly affected by pollution and adjacent to a sedge bog. The third site, 64 km southeast of Monchegorsk (67°32'16"N, 33°57'52"E), represented dense, old-growth spruce forest bordering a peat-moss bog. Detailed descriptions of vegetation at these sites are provided by Kozlov et al. (2009).

The lure set was developed using available knowledge of noctuid moth pheromones and synthetic attractants accumulated by the early 1990s (e.g., Steck et al. 1982a, 1982b; Renou et al. 1988). Eight commercially available compounds were selected: (Z)-5-decenyl acetate (hereafter Z5-10Ac), (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7-12Ac), (Z)-7-dodecen-1-ol (Z7-12OH), (Z)-5-tetradecenyl acetate (Z5-14Ac), (Z)-7-tetradecenyl acetate (Z7-14Ac), (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14Ac), (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16Ac) and (Z)-11-hexadecenal (Z11-16Ald). These were used to prepare 26 lure compositions, including eight single-component lures and ten binary mixtures, five of which were tested at multiple component ratios (Table 1). The particular mixtures and component ratios were chosen based on prior studies and known biologically active ranges, aiming to capture the most likely attractive combinations for the target moth species while keeping the number of lures manageable. Each compound or mixture was dissolved in hexane and impregnated into red rubber septa (Arthur H. Thomas Co.) at a dose of 1 mg per dispenser. In total, 260 dispensers were produced (10 replicates per lure composition).

Each of the 26 synthetic lure types was tested at three sites: three replicates at the first site, three replicates at the second site, and four replicates at the third site. Each dispenser was placed in an opaque white delta trap with an exchangeable sticky insert (Fig. 1; Atracon A trap and Pestifix glue; Flora Co., Tartu, Estonia). Traps were suspended from tree branches at a height of 1–2 m and spaced at least 10 m apart to reduce potential interference among lure plumes. Traps were positioned haphazardly and not rotated among positions, and lures were not replaced during the study period. All traps were deployed on 17.vii.1993 and inspected on 23.vii, 29.vii, and 12.viii.1993.

Captured moths were identified in the field; several problematic individuals were later confirmed by T. Tammaru. Species nomenclature and ordering follow Aarvik et al. (2017). Because our focus was on whether a lure elicited attraction of some species rather than on site-level differences, catches from replicate traps were pooled across sites. For each lure type, the total number of individuals of each species collected over the entire exposure period is reported in Table 1.

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Paraswammerdamia conspersella (Tengström, 1848)

A binary 1:10 mixture of Z5-14Ac and Z7-14Ac proved highly attractive to this species. In contrast, Z7-14Ac alone attracted only a few individuals, while Z5-14Ac alone showed no attractiveness (Table 1). Notably, Z7-14Ac, but not Z5-14Ac, was previously identified as an attractant for the related species P. nebulella (Goeze, 1783) (Mozūraitis et al. 1998).

Argyresthia pygmaeella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

Twenty individuals were attracted by Z11-16Ac (Table 1), which has previously been used in synthetic sex attractants for several other Argyresthia species (Booij and Voerman 1984; Jaastad et al. 2002). However, as A. pygmaeella is the second most abundant moth species in the study region (Kozlov et al. 2022), the modest catch suggests that further testing with additional known Argyresthia sex-attractant components is needed to develop an effective lure.

Coleophora sp.

This unidentified species responded to five lure types, with the strongest attraction to a 10:1 mixture of Z5-10Ac and Z7-12Ac (Table 1). Three of these five lures contained Z5-10Ac, a compound known to attract multiple Coleophora species (Sziràki 1980; Priesner 1987; Willemse et al. 1987; Subchev et al. 1990; Tóth et al. 1992).

Eudonia murana (Curtis, 1827)

A moderate number of individuals were attracted by Z11-16Ac (Table 1), the same lure that attracted A. pygmaeella. This compound has previously been reported to attract an Eudonia species in New Zealand (Clearwater et al. 1986).

Entephria caesiata (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

Eleven individuals were collected by traps baited with seven lure types (Table 1). Given this species’ high abundance at study sites (Kozlov et al. 2022), incidental captures cannot be excluded, and it is therefore not possible to assign definite attractiveness to any of the tested compounds.

Eulithis populata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Single individuals were attracted by two lure types, both containing Z5-10Ac (Table 1).

Syngrapha parilis (Hübner, 1809)

All four attractive lure types for this species contained Z7-12Ac, either alone or in combinations with other compounds (Table 1). This agrees with earlier findings from Northern Finland (Linnaluoto and Koponen 1983).

Syngrapha diasema (Boisduval, 1829)

Five individuals were attracted to a 1:1 mixture of Z7-12Ac and Z7-12OH (Table 1). A similar composition, in a 3:2 ratio, has previously been reported as an attractant for S. ain (Hochenwarth, 1785) (Inomata et al. 2005).

Syngrapha interrogationis (Linnaeus, 1758)

This species was attracted by five lure types containing Z7-12Ac (Table 1), either alone or in mixtures. Z7-12Ac has previously been identified as attractive to five other Syngrapha species (Priesner et al. 1977; Steck et al. 1982a; Linnaluoto and Koponen 1983; Inomata et al. 2005), and also for S. diasema (see above).

Sympistis funebris (Hübner, 1809)

This species responded most strongly to a 1:10 mixture of Z7-14Ac and Z9-14Ac and was also captured by traps baited with two other binary lures, both containing 50% Z9-14Ac (Table 1).

Sympistis heliophila (Paykull, 1793)

Z7-14Ac was the most attractive lure for this species. The previously reported attractiveness of Z7-12Ac (Linnaluoto and Koponen 1983) was also confirmed, although this compound was an order of magnitude less effective than Z7-14Ac (Table 1).

Sympistis lapponica (Thunberg, 1791)

This species was best attracted by a 1:100 mixture of Z7-12Ac and Z9-14Ac, with Z9-14Ac alone being slightly less effective (Table 1).

Enargia paleacea (Esper, 1788)

Two individuals were captured using a 10:1 mixture of Z9-14Ac and Z11-16Ac (Table 1). The same components, though in a very different ratio (1:500), have been reported as attractants for the North American species E. infumata (Grote, 1874) (Steck et al. 1982a, 1982b).

Mniotype adusta (Esper, 1790)

This species was attracted to mixtures of Z9-14Ac and Z11-16Ac, with the 1:1 ratio being most effective (Table 1). The same compounds have previously been reported to attract the North American species M. ducta (Grote, 1878) (Byers and Struble 1987).

Coranarta cordigera (Thunberg, 1788)

This species was attracted to five lure types containing Z9-14Ac, with the highest catch obtained from a lure with a minor addition of Z11-16Ald (Table 1).

Diarsia mendica (Fabricius, 1775)

Moths were captured using four lure types containing Z9-14Ac, again with the largest catch associated with a lure containing a minor proportion of Z11-16Ald (Table 1), the same composition that was most effective for C. cordigera. Z11-16Ald has not previously been reported as an attractant for Diarsia species, whereas Z9-14Ac is known to attract D. deparca (Butler, 1879) (Ando et al. 1977) and was used as a minor lure component for D. dahlii (Hübner, 1813) (Priesner 1985).

Eurois occulta (Linnaeus, 1758)

Two individuals were captured using a mixture of Z9-14Ac and Z11-16Ac (Table 1), a combination long known to attract this species in Canada (Steck et al. 1976). However, because E. occulta is common in the region and six individuals were captured simultaneously by fermented sugar bait traps (Kozlov et al. 1996), the tested lures are considered insufficiently effective for monitoring. Three-component mixtures including Z11-16Ald have proved effective in North America (Steck et al. 1982a, 1982b).

Xestia tecta (Hübner, 1808)

Single individuals were captured by two lure types containing Z9-14Ac (Table 1), which has been previously identified as an attractant for five other Xestia species (Priesner 1984, 1985; Struble and Byers 1985). Neither Z11-16Ac nor Z11-16Ald, which were also present in the lures, has been reported as attractive to closely related species (El-Sayed 2025).