# Enantioselective Synthesis of the Active Sex Pheromone Components of the Female Lichen Moth, Lyclene dharma dharma, and Their Enantiomers

## TL;DR

This paper presents a new method to synthesize sex pheromone components of the Lichen moth and their enantiomers for ecological and communication studies.

## Contribution

A concise and novel synthetic method for the enantioselective synthesis of the Lichen moth's sex pheromone components.

## Key findings

- A method using chiral auxiliaries and cross-coupling reactions was developed for pheromone synthesis.
- The synthesized compounds can aid in understanding moth communication and ecological management.
- Enantiomers of the pheromone components were successfully produced.

## Abstract

The Lichen moth, Lyclene dharma dharma (Arctiidae, Lithosiinae), plays a significant role in forest ecosystem dynamics. A concise and novel method to synthesize the active sex pheromone components, (S)-14-methyloctadecan-2-one ((S)-1), (S)-6-methyloctadecan-2-one ((S)-2), and their enantiomers has been developed. Key steps in the synthesis include the use of Evans’ chiral auxiliaries, Grignard cross-coupling reactions, hydroboration–oxidation, and Wacker oxidation. The synthesized sex pheromone components hold potential value for studies on communication mechanisms, species identification, and ecological management.