Disruption of the odour-mediated mating behaviour of Plodia interpunctella using high-frequency sound

Abstract Indian meal moths, Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), have ears which are sensitive to high‐frequency calls produced by echolocating, insectivorous bats. The influence of artificially generated, high‐intensity, ultrasound signals (25 kHz, 106 dB SPL at 1 m distance) on different parameters involved in the odour‐mediated mating behaviour of this species and its potential use in population control was investigated. All moths flying towards olfactory cues in flight tunnel experiments reacted strongly to a 1 s ultrasound pulse by cessation of flight and falling out of the odour plume. The source contact proportion of both male moths orienting towards the female‐produced sex pheromone and of mated female moths orienting towards an oviposition cue was reduced by 40%, compared to unexposed moths. Calling females responded to the sound by retraction of the ovipositor or by falling to the ground. Long‐term exposure to repetitive pulses of ultrasound suppressed female calling by up to 27%. Furthermore, mating in plastic tents was disrupted by up to 58% in ultrasound‐treated tents using different sound regimens, compared to control tents. The results are discussed in relation to the potential use of ultrasound technology for the population control of pyralid stored product pests.     

印度地鼠的性成熟和窝仔数

为有效地进行有害脊椎动物的控制 ,研究了栖息于巴基斯坦Punjab中部的 348只印度地鼠的繁殖模式。在所捕捉到的 10 7雄鼠和 2 4 1只雌鼠中 ,分别有 75只和 179只是性成熟的个体。性比偏雌。使用被捕个体标本的体重和体长作为指标 ,发现最小的性成熟的雄性个体体重为 70 - 89g ,体长 13 1- 14 0cm ;一窝仔里面的平均胚胎数为 2 74± 0 15 (范围 ,1- 5 ) ,而平均胎斑数为 4 2 9± 0 19(1- 11) .体重似乎对窝仔数有显著影响 ,而体长和估计的年龄对窝仔数没影响。当老鼠繁殖不活跃和不繁殖时 ,控制害兽最有效     

Capture of mass‐reared vs. wild‐like males of Ceratitis capitata (Dipt., Tephritidae) in trimedlure‐baited traps

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is widely used to suppress or eradicate infestations of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), an insect whose broad polyphagy poses a serious threat to fruit and vegetable crops. The SIT involves the production, sterilization and release of sterile insects to obtain sterile male by wild female matings, thus yielding infertile eggs. Mass‐rearing over many generations is known to produce dramatic changes in the behaviour and life history of C. capitata. This study investigated the possibility that mass‐rearing also alters male response to trimedlure, a sex‐specific attractant widely used in detection and monitoring programmes. We compared captures of released males from a mass‐reared strain and a recently established colony of wild flies in trimedlure‐baited Jackson traps at three spatial scales – open field, large field enclosures (75 m²) and small field cages (7 m²) – in two separate years. In the first year, males were used independently of flight ability, while in the second year only males with demonstrated flight capability were used. Trap capture was scored 2 days after release for the open field and the large field enclosures but either 1 h or 1 day after release in the small field cages. The findings were consistent across these different experiments: wild‐like males were captured in significantly greater numbers than mass‐reared males in both years of study, except in the trials lasting 1 day in the small field cages where significantly more wild than mass‐reared males were captured in 1 year but not the other. These results are compared with other studies, and their implications for SIT are discussed.     

Effects of coypu (Myocastor coypus) abundances and diet selection on a wetland of the Patagonian steppe

We assessed diet selection, impact on vegetation, and explored habitat relationships with marsh birds of coypus (Myocastor coypus) in a steppe lagoon in Argentinean Patagonia. In two consecutive springs, abundance and spatial use of the coypus and nesting marsh birds were estimated by direct counts. The coypu was a selective consumer with seasonal variations in food items, and Myriophyllum sp. and Schoenoplectus californicus dominated its diet. Coypus and marsh birds showed a differential spatial use when rushes cover was high. However, when rushes cover decreased by coypu browsing, there was a similar use of space, and marsh birds were displaced to nest on the open water and other poorly protected areas of the rushes. Our results suggest that high abundances of coypu can have a detrimental effect on wetland ecosystems. Systematic monitoring and evaluation of their effects on wetlands in recently colonized areas is recommended.     

诱集植物在农业中的应用研究进展与展望

全世界每年因病虫害导致严重的农业经济损失, 为了减少病虫害的发生, 实际生产中通常使用大量化学农药, 然而农药的大量施用, 不仅造成环境污染和农产品安全问题, 还会使病虫害产生抗药性, 天敌种群受损, 从而导致病虫害爆发日益严重。种植诱集植物是一种环境友好型病虫害防控方法, 该方法主要是通过诱集植物吸引虫害和降低病害, 从而减少病虫害对主栽作物的危害, 达到保护主栽作物的目的, 最终减少农业上化学农药的使用。根据诱集植物自身特性, 将其分为五种主导作用类型: 传统诱集植物、致死型诱集植物、基因工程型诱集植物、生物辅助控制型诱集植物、化学信息素辅助作用型诱集植物等, 根据种植和利用方式, 将其分为: 围种诱集、间种诱集、连作诱集、与其它方式结合等。尽管关于诱集植物的研究已有近160年历史, 但有关高效诱集植物的筛选、诱集植物与主栽作物的优化配置模式与配套种植技术、诱集植物对靶标病虫害的作用机理、诱集植物在农业生产中的生态风险评估等仍不清楚, 且诱集植物仍具有较大开发潜力和应用价值, 如(1)开发应用诱集植物的环境污染修复功能及相关技术; (2)开发应用诱集植物的景观生态与休闲旅游功能及相关技术; (3)开发利用诱集植物对土壤的养分转化与固持提升功能(如固氮、固碳、固土功能等)、生物质能源功能、节能减排功能及相关技术; (4)开发应用诱集植物及其废弃物的经济产品功能及其可持续生产技术。论文综述了近年来国内外有关诱集植物的相关研究与实践应用, 旨在为诱集植物在农业生产中进行病虫害防治研究和应用提供相关参考。     

南美斑潜蝇在昭阳区烤烟上的发生及防治

南美斑潜蝇Liriomyza huidobrensis每年4～8月在云南省昭通市昭阳区的烤烟生育期间发生5～6代,世代重叠,4月上旬为始发期,5月中旬至6月上旬为发生高峰期。完成1代的历期为18～34d;该虫对各种烟乡(镇)的危害属轻度发生,年发生面积1500～3000hm^2,集中危害烟株下部的1～4个叶位叶片。同时提出了南美斑潜蝇的综合防治技术。     

cycle基因对噻嗪酮、噻虫嗪防治白背飞虱效果影响探索研究

白背飞虱Sogatella furcifera是我国重要的迁飞性水稻害虫,长期以来,其防治手段主要是化学防治。大量使用化学农药易导致环境污染及害虫抗药性增加等,因此需要探索高效的农药使用方法。本研究在1 d内不同时间点用0.27 g/L噻虫嗪、5 mL/L噻嗪酮对白背飞虱的致死率进行检测,结果发现,7∶00时噻虫嗪、噻嗪酮浸染72 h后的校正死亡率均最低,分别为54%、13.9%;16∶00时噻虫嗪、噻嗪酮浸染72 h后的校正死亡率均最高,分别为89.8%、44.9%。定量结果表明节律基因Sfcycle在白背飞虱雌虫或雄虫的中肠表达量最高,4龄和5龄若虫期在蜕皮前表达量比蜕皮后高,成虫期表达量相对稳定。RNAi研究结果发现Sfcycle能够影响白背飞虱P450基因SfCYP4DE1和SfCYP353D1v2的表达,用农药处理干涉后的白背飞虱死亡率都在7∶00、16∶00两个时间点都增高,且没有显著性差异,表明Sfcycle基因能够影响噻虫嗪、噻嗪酮对白背飞虱的防治效率。     

Insecticide applications to soil contribute to the development of Burkholderia mediating insecticide resistance in stinkbugs

Some soil Burkholderia strains are capable of degrading the organophosphorus insecticide, fenitrothion, and establish symbiosis with stinkbugs, making the host insects fenitrothion‐resistant. However, the ecology of the symbiotic degrading Burkholderia adapting to fenitrothion in the free‐living environment is unknown. We hypothesized that fenitrothion applications affect the dynamics of fenitrothion‐degrading Burkholderia, thereby controlling the transmission of symbiotic degrading Burkholderia from the soil to stinkbugs. We investigated changes in the density and diversity of culturable Burkholderia (i.e. symbiotic and nonsymbiotic fenitrothion degraders and nondegraders) in fenitrothion‐treated soil using microcosms. During the incubation with five applications of pesticide, the density of the degraders increased from less than the detection limit to around 10⁶/g of soil. The number of dominant species among the degraders declined with the increasing density of degraders; eventually, one species predominated. This process can be explained according to the competitive exclusion principle using V_max and K_m values for fenitrothion metabolism by the degraders. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of representative strains isolated from the microcosms and evaluated their ability to establish symbiosis with the stinkbug Riptortus pedestris. The strains that established symbiosis with R. pedestris were assigned to a cluster including symbionts commonly isolated from stinkbugs. The strains outside the cluster could not necessarily associate with the host. The degraders in the cluster predominated during the initial phase of degrader dynamics in the soil. Therefore, only a few applications of fenitrothion could allow symbiotic degraders to associate with their hosts and may cause the emergence of symbiont‐mediated insecticide resistance.     

Natural occurrence of Beauveria bassiana in Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) populations in unsprayed coffee fields

Three unsprayed coffee farms (farm 1, 2 and 3) were studied for the natural occurrence of the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana in Hypothenemus hampei populations throughout the rainy season of 2004 (July-November) and 2005 (July-December). B. bassiana infections were found during most sampling dates in both years, on all three farms. The B. bassiana infection levels were higher in 2005 than in 2004 with mean prevalence of 12.1% and 2.7%, respectively. No consistent significant differences in infection level between farms were found in any of the years. B. bassiana infection levels fluctuated widely throughout the season, and peaked at 13.5% on farm 3 in 2004 and at 44.0% on farm 1 in 2005. The H. hampei population was significantly higher in 2004 than in 2005, with 6.9% of the berries infested in 2004 and only 0.7% in 2005. In both years, the H. hampei infestation level was significantly higher on farm 2. No consistent significant differences in H. hampei infestation levels were found between sampling dates on any of the farms. H. hampei infestation levels fluctuated throughout both seasons, and peaked at 15.3% on farm 2 in 2004 and 2.2% on farm 2 in 2005. No consistent density dependent correlation between H. hampei infestation level and B. bassiana infection level was found. Correlations between climatic conditions and B. bassiana or H. hampei were not found.