Conspecific females promote calling behavior in the noctuid moth, Pseudaletia adultera

Abstract

Changes in female calling behavior in response to the presence of conspecific pheromones (pheromone autodetection) have been demonstrated in a number of moth species. However, the observed changes vary between species, and several ecological and adaptive explanations for autodetection have been proposed. We studied the effect of conspecific females on the calling behavior of the noctuid moth Pseudaletia adultera (Schaus) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Hadenini), by comparing the age of first calling, as well as the onset and pattern of calling, when females were held individually or in the presence of conspecifics. Grouped females started calling at a lower age, a higher percentage of females called during the scotophase, and they called longer compared to females held in isolation. We also demonstrated that female antennae respond to each of the three main components of the sex pheromone – (Z)‐11‐hexadecen‐1‐ol, (Z)‐11‐hexadecen‐1‐yl acetate, and (Z)‐11‐hexadecenal – and that the response patterns differed from those of male antennae. By calling more and extending her calling window in presence of conspecific females, a female may increase her chances of accessing males. However, the potential benefits need to be considered within an ecological context, considering factors such as migration, oviposition, and foraging.

Pathogenicity and virulence factors of Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus and Bacillus spp. towards Argyrotaenia sphaleropa larvae (Lepidoptera)

“…A colony of Argyrotaenia sphaleropa was started in 2016 with larvae sourced from apple tree orchards located in Melilla region, Montevideo, Uruguay, and maintained under laboratory conditions set at 21 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% r.h. and L14: D10 photoperiod at the Plant Protection Laboratory at INIA Las Brujas Research Station. Larvae were fed with the diet reported by Rehermann, Altesor, McNeil, and González (), modified by the addition of 300 g of ground apples and without maize bran in the preparation.…”

Phenolic Fingerprinting, Antioxidant, and Deterrent Potentials of Persicaria maculosa Extracts

“…Epilachna paenulata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was investigated because is a folivorous South American pest and feeds mainly on Cucurbitaceae species [40]. Meanwhile, Pseudaletia adultera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was investigated because it is an important pest of the cultivated grasses also in South America [41]. In the same way, Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is an important worldwide pest of potato crops [42] and Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is the principal pest of citrus and is considered an important vector of plant pathogenic proteobacteria [43].…”

Pheromone Autodetection: Evidence and Implications

“…These contradictory results from separate studies with G. molesta highlight variation of behavioral responses depending possibly on assay conditions. Three tortricids ( Eupoecilia ambiguella (Hübner), Pandemis pyrusana (Kearfott), and Lobesia botrana (Denis and Schiffermüller)) and an arctiid ( Euplagia quadripunctaria (Poda)) displayed no observable behavioral responses when exposed to pheromone (Refs [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] in Table 1 ).…”