| Title: | "Sexual Behavior of the Sugarcane Hairy Borer, Hyponeuma taltula (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): Evidence for a Female-Released Sex Pheromone" |
| Author(s): | Triana MF; Nogueira A; Franca PHB; Costa JG; Goulart HF; Santana AEG; |
| Address: | "Chemistry and Biotechnology Institute, Federal Univ of Alagoas, Maceio, Brasil. Agrarian and Engineering Science Campus, Federal Univ of Alagoas, Av Lourival de Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitaria, Maceio, AL., 57072-970, Brasil. Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Aracaju, Brasil. Agrarian and Engineering Science Campus, Federal Univ of Alagoas, Av Lourival de Melo Mota s/n, Cidade Universitaria, Maceio, AL., 57072-970, Brasil. aegsal@gmail.com" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s13744-020-00774-x |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1678-8052 (Electronic) 1519-566X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The sugarcane hairy borer, Hyponeuma taltula (Schaus, 1904), attacks the base of sugarcane and causes the death of the apical bud, a symptom known as 'dead heart.' In recent years, there has been significant infestation in Brazilian sugarcane crops. With the purpose of finding methods for controlling and/or monitoring the pest for the sustainable cultivation of sugarcane, we characterized the mating behavior of H. taltula and confirmed the release of a sex pheromone by this insect. Sexual activity was observed between the second and ninth hour of scotophase, during which female calling caused the onset of male courtship behaviors and increased their frequency. An ethogram was built showing that males perform seven observable steps: (1) wing flapping, (2) walking with wing flapping, (3) flying, (4) flying towards the female, (5) landing near the female and walking around her, (6) attempting copulation, and (7) copulation (mating). Female sex gland extracts also triggered attraction and male courtship behaviors. These results thus confirm that the female abdominal gland produces a sex pheromone and that the presence of this pheromone in the air is needed to initiate the male courtship sequence. The sexual behavior of H. taltula is compatible with control and/or monitoring methods using female sex pheromones" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Brazil Female Moths/*physiology *Saccharum Sex Attractants/*physiology *Sexual Behavior, Animal Sexual behavior pheromone control sugarcane soil pest, moth courtship;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineTriana, M F Nogueira, A S P C Franca, P H B Costa, J G Goulart, H F Santana, A E G eng CNPq 465511/2014-7 & Fapesp 2014/50871-0/Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia de Semioquimicos na Agricultura/ Netherlands 2020/05/24 Neotrop Entomol. 2020 Oct; 49(5):739-744. doi: 10.1007/s13744-020-00774-x. Epub 2020 May 22" |
