Sex pheromone communication from a population resistant to mating disruptant of the smaller tea tortrix, Adoxophyes honmai Yasuda (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract

In Adoxophyes honmai, a population that has developed resistance to a disruptant composed of (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate was recognized in Shimada in Shizuoka Prefecture. The sex pheromone components of the resistant population were individually analyzed. The average amounts of (Z)-9-and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetates were 40.5 ng and 45.6 ng, respectively, whereas the averages in the susceptible population were 39.9 ng and 15.1 ng. The results suggest that resistant females biosynthesize more (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate in order to heighten the ratio of the acetate in the sex pheromone component. A 40 : 60 blend of (Z)-9-and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetates was the best of six kinds of lures tested on resistant males. The male response tunes to the sex pheromone blend produced by resistant females. Although no attractiveness has been generally observed in a lure impregnated with only (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate, males were attracted to the incomplete lure treated with the mating disruptant in the field. Resistant males supposedly utilize the widespread odor of (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate released from mating disruption devices installed in the tea canopy for orientation, while they trace a directional plume of (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate emitted from the lure.

Intraspecific Variation in Female Sex Pheromone of the Codling Moth Cydia pomonella

“…However, a non-significant trend suggests that females collected from a field with mating disruption contained more codlemone than females from a field without mating disruption (see Figure 2 ). This is in the same direction as was found in the smaller tea tortrix, Adoxophyes honmai Yasuda, where females from a population in which resistance to mating disruption occurred also contained significantly more of the major sex pheromone components than females from a susceptible population [ 23 ]. Since in both C. pomonella and A. honmai females perceive their own sex pheromone [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 ], it will be interesting to assess whether females of these two species adjust their pheromone composition depending on the chemical environment, as found previously in Heliothis subflexa Guenée [ 62 ].…”

“…With mating disruption, the air is saturated with sex pheromone of the pest insect, most often using 500–1000 synthetic pheromone dispensers per ha, so that potential mates cannot locate each other (e.g., [ 15 , 16 ]). This communication interference most likely causes strong selection in natural populations to change their sexual communication system [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], so that shifts in the natural pheromone blend and/or pheromone titers of females or in male response can be expected [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

“…In Japan, the first case of resistance to mating disruption has been described [ 25 ]: after 10 years of intense use of mating disruption, a resistant population has developed, in which females have changed their sex pheromone composition and males have widely broadened their pheromone response [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. This change suggests that moth sexual communication evolves via “asymmetric tracking” [ 26 ]: variation in the female pheromone signals can be tracked by males that possess a wide response width, so that a change in the pheromone communication system can occur.…”

Mating Disruption of Guatemalan Potato Moth Tecia Solanivora by Attractive and Non-Attractive Pheromone Blends

“…The small tea tortrix Adoxophyes honmai (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) became resistant to mating disruption after long-term use of a single component of its four-component pheromone blend. Resistance was overcome by employing the natural blend (Mochizuki et al, 2002;Mochizukii et al, 2008;Tabata et al, 2007a, b). One strategy to counteract resistance in T. solanivora, while also improving the efficacy of mating disruption control, might be to combine off-blend air permeation with mass trapping using female-blend dispensers (see Fig.…”

Major Issues in Insect Resistance Management

“…In the presence of disrupting pheromones, resistant males successfully found and mated with females (Tabata et al, 2007a). Resistant females produce more of one component, which changes the ratio of a single acetate (Mochizuki et al, 2008).…”