More Rare Males in Ostrinia: Response of Asian Corn Borer Moths to the Sex Pheromone of the European Corn Borer

Abstract

A previous flight tunnel study showed that 3-5% of European corn borer (ECB) moths, Ostrinia nubilalis (Z/E11-14:OAc), could fly upwind and make contact with sources releasing the sex pheromone of the related Asian corn borer (ACB), Ostrinia furnacalis (2:1 Z/E12-14:OAc). In this study, we show that rare males (3-4%) are also present in South Korean ACB that respond to the sex pheromone blends of the ECB UZ (97:3 Z/E11-14: OAc) and BE (1:99 Z/E11-14:OAc) pheromone races. We also show that the upwind flight response of a significant proportion of male ACB was antagonized by the addition of 1% Z9-14:OAc to the ACB blend, a compound that also antagonizes the upwind flight of ECB males. Male ACB flight behavior was not, however, affected by adding either of the ECB blends to the ACB blend, or by the addition of 50% 14:OAc, a compound identified from female pheromone glands of ACB and a number of other Ostrinia species. Additional flight tunnel tests with ACB to study the comparative aspects of ECB and ACB pheromone response specificity showed that male ACB exhibited maximal levels of upwind flight and source contact with doses of pheromone (30 and 100 μg on rubber septum sources) that also elicited maximal levels in the two ECB pheromone races. The maximal level of source contact for ACB (66%) was lower than observed with the UZ race of ECB to its pheromone blend (>95%), but comparable to those for the BE race of ECB (65-70%). Male ACB also flew upwind in high proportions to a broader range of ratios of Z/E12-14:OAc (80:20 to 20:80) than was previously observed for either of the ECB races.

Changes of Sex Pheromone Communication Systems Associated with Tebufenozide and Abamectin Resistance in Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella (L.)

“…Sex pheromone communication systems may be a major force that drives moth speciation by causing behavioral reproductive isolation via assortative meeting and mating of conspecific individuals (Linn et al 2007). In this study, we found differences in sex pheromone communication between susceptible and two insecticide resistant strains of DBM, and we showed that the differences led to an assortative or preferential mating between different strains.…”

Use of Pheromone Timed Insecticide Applications Integrated With Mating Disruption or Mass Trapping Against <I>Ostrinia furnacalis</I> (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Sweet Corn

“…Monitoring stem borer populations with pheromones has developed into a mainstay in forecasting for the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Sheng et al 2003;Chen et al 2003Chen et al , 2007, and Asian corn borer (Hu and Jiang 1995, Liu and Zhang 2006, Linn et al 2007. In 2010, pheromone trap captures became the primary technique for timing control applications in NE China.…”

Sex-Linked Pheromone Receptor Genes of the European Corn Borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, Are in Tandem Arrays

“…On the other hand, there are “rare” Ostrinia males (3–5%) that possess the ability to respond to a pheromone blend which is not effective for most individuals in the population [15], [40]–[41]; moreover, significant differences in olfactory neuron responsiveness have been observed between rare and normal males [42]–[43]. Tandemly arrayed genes are thought to be subject to birth-and-death evolution, in which new genes are created by duplication.…”