A plant-based 'push-pull' strategy for Ectropis obliqua (Prout) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) is being developed using semiochemicals in the volatiles of Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiaceae). The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the bioactive components within R. officinalis by gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and to test the antennal and behavioural responses of E. obliqua to these chemicals. The emission dynamics of bioactive chemicals was also monitored.