Mating Disruption: Concepts and Keys for Effective Application

Pseudococcus calceolariae, the citrophilous mealybug, is a species of economic importance. Mating disruption (MD) is a potential control tool. During 2017–2020, trials were conducted to evaluate the potential of P. calceolariae MD in an apple and a tangerine orchard. Two pheromone doses, 6.32 g/ha (2017–2018) and 9.45 g/ha (2019–2020), were tested. The intermediate season (2018–2019) was evaluated without pheromone renewal to study the persistence of the pheromone effect. Male captures in pheromone traps, mealybug population/plant, percentage of infested fruit at harvest and mating disruption index (MDI) were recorded regularly. In both orchards, in the first season, male captures were significantly lower in MD plots compared to control plots, with an MDI > 94% in the first month after pheromone deployment. During the second season, significantly lower male captures in MD plots were still observed, with an average MDI of 80%. At the third season, male captures were again significant lower in MD than control plots shortly after pheromone applications. In both orchards, population by visual inspection and infested fruits were very low, without differences between MD and control plots. These results show the potential use of mating disruption for the control of P. calceolariae.

Download Full-text

Traffic Models as an Effective Application in a Converged Network

2021 IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Computer Applications (ICPECA) ◽

10.1109/icpeca51329.2021.9362546 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zhao Yize

Keyword(s):

Traffic Models ◽

Effective Application ◽

Converged Network

Download Full-text

Effect of Pheromone Blend Components, Sex Ratio, and Population Size on the Mating of Cadra cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Journal of Insect Science ◽

10.1093/jisesa/ieaa128 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Abeysinghe Mudiyanselage Prabodha Sammani ◽

Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Saman Kumara Dissanayaka ◽

Leanage Kanaka Wolly Wijayaratne ◽

William Robert Morrison

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Population Size ◽

Management Practices ◽

Mating Disruption ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Mating Status ◽

Cadra Cautella ◽

Synthetic Chemicals ◽

Population Sizes ◽

Lepidoptera Pyralidae

Abstract The almond moth Cadra cautella (Walker), a key pest of storage facilities, is difficult to manage using synthetic chemicals. Pheromone-based management methods remain a high priority due to advantages over conventional management practices, which typically use insecticides. Cadra cautella females release a blend of pheromone including (Z, E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (ZETA) and (Z)-9-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate (ZTA). The effect of these components on mating of C. cautella and how response varies with the population density and sex ratio remain unknown. In this study, the mating status of C. cautella was studied inside mating cages under different ratios of ZETA and ZTA diluted in hexane and at different population sizes either with equal or unequal sex ratio. The lowest percentage of mated females (highest mating disruption [MD] effects), corresponding to roughly 12.5%, was produced by a 5:1 and 3.3:1 ratio of ZETA:ZTA. Populations with equal sex ratio showed the lowest percentage of mated females, at 20% and 12.5% under lower and higher density, respectively. The next lowest percentage of mated females was produced when the sex ratio was set to 1: 2 and 2:1 male:female, with just 25% and 22.5% of moths mated, respectively. This study shows that mating status of C. cautella is influenced by ZETA:ZTA ratio, sex ratio, and population size. This current knowledge would have useful implications for mating disruption programs.

Download Full-text

Inhibitory Copulation Effect of Vibrational Rival Female Signals of Three Stink Bug Species as a Tool for Mating Disruption

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12020177 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 177

Author(s):

Aline Moreira Dias ◽

Miguel Borges ◽

Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes ◽

Matheus Lorran Figueira Coelho ◽

Andrej Čokl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pest Management ◽

Mating Behavior ◽

Mating Disruption ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Stink Bug ◽

Stink Bugs ◽

Vibratory Communication ◽

Communication Signals ◽

Long Duration ◽

Bean Plants

Stink bugs are major pests in diverse crops around the world. Pest management strategies based on insect behavioral manipulation could help to develop biorational management strategies of stink bugs. Insect mating disruption using vibratory signals is an approach with high potential for pest management. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of conspecific female rival signals on the mating behavior and copulation of three stink bug species to establish their potential for mating disruption. Previously recorded female rival signals were played back to bean plants where pairs of the Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros, and two green stink bugs, Chinavia ubica and Chinavia impicticornis were placed. Vibratory communication and mating behavior were recorded for each pair throughout the experimental time (20 min). Female rival signals show a disrupting effect on the reproductive behavior of three conspecific investigated stink bug species. This effect was more clearly expressed in E. heros and C. ubica than in C. impicticornis. The likelihood of copulating in pairs placed on control plants, without rival signals, increased 29.41 times in E. heros, 4.6 times in C. ubica and 1.71 times in C. impicticornis. However, in the last case, the effect of female rivalry signals in copulation was not significant. The effect of mating disruption of female rival signals of the three stink bug species may originate from the observed reduction in specific vibratory communication signals emitted, which influences the duet formation and further development of different phases of mating behavior. Our results suggest that female rival signals have potential for application in manipulation and disruption of mating behavior of stink bugs. Further work needs to focus on the effects of female rival signals used in long duration experiments and also their interactions with chemical communication of stink bugs.

Download Full-text

Contribution of Cyanotoxins to the Ecotoxicological Role of Lichens

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins13050321 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 321

Author(s):

Dobri Ivanov ◽

Galina Yaneva ◽

Irina Potoroko ◽

Diana G. Ivanova

Keyword(s):

Research Methods ◽

Raw Material ◽

Modern Times ◽

Effective Application ◽

The World ◽

The Common

The fascinating world of lichens draws the attention of the researchers because of the numerous properties of lichens used traditionally and, in modern times, as a raw material for medicines and in the perfumery industry, for food and spices, for fodder, as dyes, and for other various purposes all over the world. However, lichens being widespread symbiotic entities between fungi and photosynthetic partners may acquire toxic features due to either the fungi, algae, or cyano-procaryotes producing toxins. By this way, several common lichens acquire toxic features. In this survey, recent data about the ecology, phytogenetics, and biology of some lichens with respect to the associated toxin-producing cyanoprokaryotes in different habitats around the world are discussed. Special attention is paid to the common toxins, called microcystin and nodularin, produced mainly by the Nostoc species. The effective application of a series of modern research methods to approach the issue of lichen toxicity as contributed by the cyanophotobiont partner is emphasized.

Download Full-text