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2 pages, 182 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control

by Valerio Mazzoni and Gianfranco Anfora

Insects 2021, 12(4), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12040287 - 26 Mar 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4184

Abstract

Pest control is moving towards a dramatic reduction in pesticide-based approaches in favor of more eco-friendly strategies characterized by the promotion of ecological intensification of agriculture and reduction of human inputs (especially pesticides) [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

Research

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19 pages, 12512 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pinyon Engraver Beetle Acoustics: Stridulation Apparatus, Sound Production and Behavioral Response to Vibroacoustic Treatments in Logs

by Ivan Lukic, Carol L. Bedoya, Evan M. Hofstetter and Richard W. Hofstetter

Insects 2021, 12(6), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12060496 - 26 May 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3164

Abstract

Bark beetles are among the most influential biotic agents in conifer forests, and forest management often focuses on bark beetle chemical communication for tree protection. Although acoustic communication occurs in many bark beetle species, we have yet to utilize acoustic communication for bark [...] Read more.

Bark beetles are among the most influential biotic agents in conifer forests, and forest management often focuses on bark beetle chemical communication for tree protection. Although acoustic communication occurs in many bark beetle species, we have yet to utilize acoustic communication for bark beetle control. Here, we describe the stridulatory organs and ‘stress’ chirps of the pinyon engraver, Ips confusus, a significant pest and mortality agent of pinyon pine in western North America. Only females possessed stridulatory organs and their stress chirps varied significantly in duration, pulses per chirp, and dominant frequency. We tested an array of acoustic-vibrational treatments into logs but were unable to disrupt male entry into logs or alter female–male interactions, female tunneling, and female oviposition. We found acoustic–vibrational treatments had little effect on I. confusus behavior and suggest further studies if acoustic methods are to be utilized for bark beetle control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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16 pages, 2036 KiB

Open AccessArticle

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

by Aline Moreira Dias, Miguel Borges, Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes, Matheus Lorran Figueira Coelho, Andrej Čokl and Raúl Alberto Laumann

Insects 2021, 12(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12020177 - 18 Feb 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2330

Abstract

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 [...] Read more.

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. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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13 pages, 1803 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Selection of Lactic Acid Bacteria Species and Strains for Efficient Trapping of Drosophila suzukii

by Amani Alawamleh, Gordana Ðurović, Giuseppe Maddalena, Raffaele Guzzon, Sonia Ganassi, Maaz Maqsood Hashmi, Felix Wäckers, Gianfranco Anfora and Antonio De Cristofaro

Insects 2021, 12(2), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12020153 - 11 Feb 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3441

Abstract

(1) Monitoring of Drosophila suzukii is based on the use of effective traps and baits. The current baits are insufficient to provide efficient monitoring. The use of bacteria as bio-catalyzers to produce bioactive volatiles may improve flies’ attraction. Thus, we conducted this work [...] Read more.

(1) Monitoring of Drosophila suzukii is based on the use of effective traps and baits. The current baits are insufficient to provide efficient monitoring. The use of bacteria as bio-catalyzers to produce bioactive volatiles may improve flies’ attraction. Thus, we conducted this work to improve Droskidrink^® bait’s attractiveness using lactic acid bacteria. (2) Different baits that were based on the use of Droskidrink^® were assessed for flies’ attraction in a Droso-Trap^® in a vineyard. Oenococcus oeni, Pediococcus spp., and Lactobacillus spp. were used. The performance of the most attractive species, O. oeni, inoculated into Droskidrink^® was assessed in laboratory tests. The responses of female flies to volatiles produced by Droskidrink^® with O. oeni strains were recorded by electroantennography. (3) Preliminary field assessment of baits recorded O. oeni as the most attractive species. Three strain groups showed adaptation to test conditions. Volatiles extracted by the headspace of baits inoculated with O. oeni, elicited electroantennographic responses from fly antennae. (4) Droskidrink^® inoculated with O. oeni is a highly attractive bait for monitoring. These findings will be useful for improving the attractiveness of D. suzukii commercial baits based on the utilization of LAB volatiles in a strain-dependent manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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19 pages, 539 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Liquid Baits with Oenococcus oeni Increase Captures of Drosophila suzukii

by Gordana Ðurović, Amani Alawamleh, Silvia Carlin, Giuseppe Maddalena, Raffaele Guzzon, Valerio Mazzoni, Daniel T. Dalton, Vaughn M. Walton, David M. Suckling, Ruth C. Butler, Sergio Angeli, Antonio De Cristofaro and Gianfranco Anfora

Insects 2021, 12(1), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12010066 - 13 Jan 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4279

Abstract

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), native to Eastern Asia, is an invasive alien species in Europe and the Americas, where it is a severe pest of horticultural crops, including soft fruits and wine grapes. The conventional approach to controlling [...] Read more.

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), native to Eastern Asia, is an invasive alien species in Europe and the Americas, where it is a severe pest of horticultural crops, including soft fruits and wine grapes. The conventional approach to controlling infestations of SWD involves the use of insecticides, but the frequency of application for population management is undesirable. Consequently, alternative strategies are urgently needed. Effective and improved trapping is important as an early risk detection tool. This study aimed to improve Droskidrink^® (DD), a commercially available attractant for SWD. We focused on the chemical and behavioral effects of adding the bacterium Oenococcus oeni (Garvie) to DD and used a new trap design to enhance the effects of attractive lures. We demonstrate that microbial volatile compounds produced by O. oeni are responsible for the increase in the attractiveness of the bait and could be later utilized for the development of a better trapping system. Our results showed that the attractiveness of DD was increased up to two-fold by the addition of commercially available O. oeni when combined with an innovative trap design. The new trap-bait combination increased the number of male and especially female catches at low population densities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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17 pages, 7200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bounds on Absolute Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Population Density as Derived from Counts in Single Milk Carton Traps

by Ksenia S. Onufrieva, Alexey V. Onufriev, Andrea D. Hickman and James R. Miller

Insects 2020, 11(10), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11100673 - 3 Oct 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2413

Abstract

Estimates of absolute pest population density are critical to pest management programs but have been difficult to obtain from capture numbers in pheromone-baited monitoring traps. In this paper, we establish a novel predictive relationship for a probability (spT_fer(r)) of [...] Read more.

Estimates of absolute pest population density are critical to pest management programs but have been difficult to obtain from capture numbers in pheromone-baited monitoring traps. In this paper, we establish a novel predictive relationship for a probability (spT_fer(r)) of catching a male located at a distance r from the trap with a plume reach D.

s p T_{f e r} (r) = \{\begin{array}{r} \frac{s p T_{f e r} (0)}{1 + {(\frac{r}{D})}^{2}}, r \leq R_{m a x} \\ 0, r > R_{m a x} \end{array}

, where spTfer(0) is the probability of catching an insect located next to the trap and Rmax is the maximum dispersal distance for the insect during the trapping period. The maximum dispersal distance for gypsy moth is known to be 1600 m. The probability of catching a gypsy moth male located next to a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) milk carton pheromone-baited trap is 0.37, the overall probability of catching a male from the entire trapping area (T_fer) of ~800 ha is 0.0008, and plume reach of this trap is D = 26 ± 3 m. The equation for spT_fer(r) is used to derive statistical upper and lower bounds (95% confidence interval) on the population density for the given value of a single trap catch. This combination of trap parameters appears to produce an effective trap: even a catch of 1 male provides meaningful lower and upper bounds on absolute population density. Applications in the management programs are discussed, and a look-up table is provided to translate the catches in USDA milk carton pheromone-baited traps to absolute population bounds, which can help design better management strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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13 pages, 2105 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kairomone and Camera Trapping New Zealand Flower Thrips, Thrips obscuratus

by David Maxwell Suckling, Mailee E. Stanbury, Ox Lennon, Kate M. Colhoun, Fabio Chinellato and Ashraf M. El-Sayed

Insects 2020, 11(9), 622; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090622 - 11 Sep 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2839

Abstract

This project investigated how kairomone lures, camera traps, and counting software could together contribute to pest management. Images of cumulative daily catch of New Zealand Flower Thrips (NZFT) attracted to a ripe peach lactone (6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one; 6-PAP) were automatically loaded to the internet and [...] Read more.

This project investigated how kairomone lures, camera traps, and counting software could together contribute to pest management. Images of cumulative daily catch of New Zealand Flower Thrips (NZFT) attracted to a ripe peach lactone (6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one; 6-PAP) were automatically loaded to the internet and compared with scanned bases checked weekly using in-house software and manual counting. Camera traps were able to provide thrips counts equivalent to delta traps, but daily and remotely. An 11-fold greater NZFT count occurred within 24 h in passive traps after polyethylene sachets loaded with 250 mg of 6-PAP were placed in trees. Intensive trapping, by placing 1, 2, 4, and 8 traps per tree (500 mg/trap), resulted in a maximum 32-fold increase in thrips per tree. While 6-PAP has proved to be a useful tool for monitoring NZFT numbers, our results suggest that it is not likely to be suitable for mass trapping. Future research should investigate NZFT behavior to better understand population movement on an area-wide basis. Camera traps can be a valuable tool for recording insect flight activity remotely, but the number of traps required for statistically reliable estimates may be prohibitive. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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13 pages, 489 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Vibrational Playbacks Disrupt Mating or Influence Other Relevant Behaviours in Bactericera cockerelli (Triozidae: Hemiptera)?

by Sabina Avosani, Thomas E. Sullivan, Marco Ciolli, Valerio Mazzoni and David Maxwell Suckling

Insects 2020, 11(5), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11050299 - 12 May 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4349

Abstract

Behaviours of insects can be manipulated by transmitting vibrational signals to host plants in order to develop pest management techniques. Bactericera cockerelli is an important pest and uses vibrations for mate-finding. In order to design a future control strategy for B. cockerelli, [...] Read more.

Behaviours of insects can be manipulated by transmitting vibrational signals to host plants in order to develop pest management techniques. Bactericera cockerelli is an important pest and uses vibrations for mate-finding. In order to design a future control strategy for B. cockerelli, three different bioassays were performed to assess whether vibrational signals could affect relevant behaviours. Single males or pairs were treated with a female playback in test 1 and 2, respectively. In test 3, mixed sex groups received either different disturbance playbacks. The use of a female playback significantly reduced the mating success of males, since they were attracted towards the source of the stimulus. Moreover, test 2 revealed that B. cockerelli females are competitive, since they used their signals to cover the playback and to duet with males, while in test 3, the disturbance playback, consisting of broadband noises significantly reduced male signalling activity. However, none of the treatments of test 3 negatively affected the mating success of males, which tended to mount the other conspecifics present on the same leaf. The role of vibrations in sexual communication and their potential application as control technique for B. cockerelli are discussed as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioral Manipulation for Pest Control)

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