Manipulating behaviour with substrate‐borne vibrations – potential for insect pest control

Abstract

This review presents an overview of the potential use of substrate-borne vibrations for the purpose of achieving insect pest control in the context of integrated pest management. Although the importance of mechanical vibrations in the life of insects has been fairly well established, the effect of substrate-borne vibrations has historically been understudied, in contrast to sound sensu stricto. Consequently, the idea of using substrate-borne vibrations for pest control is still in its infancy. This review therefore focuses on the theoretical background, using it to highlight potential applications in a field environment, and lists the few preliminary studies that have been or are being performed. Conceptual similarities to the use of sound, as well as limitations inherent in this approach, are also noted.

Vibrational mating disruption of Empoasca vitis by natural or artificial disturbance noises

“…Several possible constraints must be considered before the method can be deployed in the field. To date, the energy demand of the transducers has been a major constraint to the marketability of a vibrational mating disruption method . The possibility of temporarily suspending the DN by inserting silent gaps has been proposed to reduce the energy demand of the transducers .…”

“…Ever since, basic researchers and the chemical industry have worked, often together, to improve this method that is still far from its full application potential . The idea of developing a vibrational mating disruption method is relatively new, but because many pests use substrate‐borne vibrations to communicate, the interest in its applicability is rapidly growing . The approach to vibrational mating disruption varies with the behavior of the target species; among these, naturally occurring disturbance noises emitted by rival males have been successfully used to mask and interrupt the pair formation process.…”

Design of a candidate vibrational signal for mating disruption against the glassy‐winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis

“…In the last few years, general interest in the use of vibrational signals to manipulate insect pest behaviors has shown a constant increase . For species that communicate or obtain information through substrate‐borne vibrational signals, the application of mechanical principles that result in little to no negative environmental impact may constitute a valuable alternative and/or complement to pesticide applications .…”

“…Insects that communicate via exchange of substrate‐borne vibrations during mate selection behavior use specific signals to identify, locate, attract, and court a potential mate . To disrupt behaviors that lead to copula, specific transducers attached to the substrate can be used to transmit vibrational signals that confuse and/or mislead individuals . For example, one approach to interfere with mate location behaviors could be artificial transmission of female vibrational signals that attract males to a trap (i.e., attract and kill) (Mazzoni et al ., unpublished).…”

Summing up 2015

“…Thirty perspective and review papers in 2015 are representative of this wide range of topics. There was a perspective and a review on biopesticides and a review on manipulating insect behavior for insect control with substrate vibrations in the January issue. The March issue featured an In Focus section on IPM organized by Associate Editor Jonathan Gressel that featured a perspective on IPM and fungicide resistance, a review on IPM versus insecticide dependency in Colorado potato beetle control, and a review on IPM in North American weed management .…”