ABSTRACT Three moth species, cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), sp... more ABSTRACT Three moth species, cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), sparganothis fruitworm, Sparganothis sulfureana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and blackheaded fireworm, Rhopobota naevana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), are perennial pests of cranberries in Wisconsin. Previous work has shown pheromone-based mating disruption to be a promising non-insecticidal method of pest control in cranberries; however, a suitable carrier and delivery system is still needed. We partnered with ISCA Technologies, Inc. (Riverside, CA) and Wisconsin cranberry growers to perform a multi-species mating disruption trial in cranberries. The pheromones were loaded into ISCA’s novel paraffin wax carrier, SPLAT®, and applied directly to the cranberry vines. In 2012 we tested a 2-species blend (sparganothis fruitworm and blackheaded fireworm) at four marshes in central Wisconsin. Despite many logistical issues, trapping data from one marsh showed 87% disruption for blackheaded fireworm and 55% disruption for sparganothis fruitworm in the SPLAT®block verses the control. In 2013, a 3-species blend was applied at six marshes, totaling 50 acres under mating disruption. We caught fewer blackheaded fireworm and cranberry fruitworm moths in the SPLAT® blocks verses the control, but more sparganothis fruitworm moths in the SPLAT® blocks.
The renowned ability of male moths to discover the location of a pheromone-emitting female by fol... more The renowned ability of male moths to discover the location of a pheromone-emitting female by following her aerial trail of pheromone to its source appears to be a basal characteristic of moths. Female-emitted male attractants occur amongst the oldest lineages, such as the more primitive genera of Hepialidae (Wagner and Rosovsky 1991). Among the higher moths or Ditrysia, which comprise 98% of moth species, it is also the male which conventionally is lured to the female; the exceptions to this rule are almost certainly secondarily derived. Another indicator of a common lineage for male attraction to female ditrysians is that the location of pheromone production appears confined almost exclusively to abdominal segments VII—X and typically is situated in segments VIII and IX (Percy-Cunningham and MacDonald 1987). The chemistry of the attractants as well appears to have remained remarkably undiversified, comprising mainly acetate, alcohol, or aldehyde terminal moieties on evenly numbered chains 12-18 carbons long, mostly with one or two positions of unsaturation, even in long diverged lineages such as the Noctuoidea, the Bombycoidea, and the Pyraloidea (Arn et al. 1992). The combined evidence thus supports a female-to-male chemical signaling system as a basal condition of moths (see also Lofstedt and Kozlov this volume).
. The effects of pheromone plume structure and its concentration on the pheromone‐mediated flight... more . The effects of pheromone plume structure and its concentration on the pheromone‐mediated flight of male Cadra cautella (Lepidoptera: Phycitinae) were investigated in a laminar‐flow wind tunnel. When two C. caurella males flew simultaneously along a ribbon plume of mixed smoke and pheromone, their inflight behaviour was dependent on the instantaneous structure of the plume they encountered. When a male intercepted an intact ribbon filament, he sustained a crosswind course, whereas when he intercepted a turbulent filament (created by an upwind male fragmenting the ribbon plume), he adopted a flight course more due upwind. These results indicate that C. cautella males altered their in‐flight manoeuvres in response to instantaneous changes in the fine structure of the pheromone plume. We also demonstrated that differences in the fine structure of the plume had more influence on the flight pattern of C. cautella males than a 1000‐fold range in pheromone dose. The size of the plume was increased by adding wind deflectors upwind of the pheromone source, independent of source dosage, males following ribbon plumes flew slow zigzag tracks, whereas males following large, turbulent plumes flew directly to the source in fast, straight tracks with less counterturning.
The mechanisms by which the application of formulated pheromone interferes with mating in the pin... more The mechanisms by which the application of formulated pheromone interferes with mating in the pink bollworm moth (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella were examined in 0.4 ha cotton fields using high‐dose (78 mg A.I.) sealed polyethylene dispensers. Walk‐in, field wind tunnels 6.2 m long were placed over two rows of cotton. Treatments consisted of a control, a tunnel in a field free of disruptant formulation; a 3‐rope treatment, in which the field was free of pheromone but one of the cotton rows in the wind tunnel was treated with 3 PBW ropes; and a rope‐grid treatment, in which the field was treated with PBW ropes at the standard density of 1000 ha−1 and one of the cotton rows inside the wind tunnel was treated with 3 PBW ropes. We released marked males into the tunnels near sunset or held them in field cages for 24 h prior to assay. Two pheromone traps at the tunnel's upwind end monitored the ability of males to locate point sources of pheromone. In the 3‐rope tunnel, traps placed u...
ABSTRACT Three moth species, cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), sp... more ABSTRACT Three moth species, cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), sparganothis fruitworm, Sparganothis sulfureana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and blackheaded fireworm, Rhopobota naevana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), are perennial pests of cranberries in Wisconsin. Previous work has shown pheromone-based mating disruption to be a promising non-insecticidal method of pest control in cranberries; however, a suitable carrier and delivery system is still needed. We partnered with ISCA Technologies, Inc. (Riverside, CA) and Wisconsin cranberry growers to perform a multi-species mating disruption trial in cranberries. The pheromones were loaded into ISCA’s novel paraffin wax carrier, SPLAT®, and applied directly to the cranberry vines. In 2012 we tested a 2-species blend (sparganothis fruitworm and blackheaded fireworm) at four marshes in central Wisconsin. Despite many logistical issues, trapping data from one marsh showed 87% disruption for blackheaded fireworm and 55% disruption for sparganothis fruitworm in the SPLAT®block verses the control. In 2013, a 3-species blend was applied at six marshes, totaling 50 acres under mating disruption. We caught fewer blackheaded fireworm and cranberry fruitworm moths in the SPLAT® blocks verses the control, but more sparganothis fruitworm moths in the SPLAT® blocks.
The renowned ability of male moths to discover the location of a pheromone-emitting female by fol... more The renowned ability of male moths to discover the location of a pheromone-emitting female by following her aerial trail of pheromone to its source appears to be a basal characteristic of moths. Female-emitted male attractants occur amongst the oldest lineages, such as the more primitive genera of Hepialidae (Wagner and Rosovsky 1991). Among the higher moths or Ditrysia, which comprise 98% of moth species, it is also the male which conventionally is lured to the female; the exceptions to this rule are almost certainly secondarily derived. Another indicator of a common lineage for male attraction to female ditrysians is that the location of pheromone production appears confined almost exclusively to abdominal segments VII—X and typically is situated in segments VIII and IX (Percy-Cunningham and MacDonald 1987). The chemistry of the attractants as well appears to have remained remarkably undiversified, comprising mainly acetate, alcohol, or aldehyde terminal moieties on evenly numbered chains 12-18 carbons long, mostly with one or two positions of unsaturation, even in long diverged lineages such as the Noctuoidea, the Bombycoidea, and the Pyraloidea (Arn et al. 1992). The combined evidence thus supports a female-to-male chemical signaling system as a basal condition of moths (see also Lofstedt and Kozlov this volume).
. The effects of pheromone plume structure and its concentration on the pheromone‐mediated flight... more . The effects of pheromone plume structure and its concentration on the pheromone‐mediated flight of male Cadra cautella (Lepidoptera: Phycitinae) were investigated in a laminar‐flow wind tunnel. When two C. caurella males flew simultaneously along a ribbon plume of mixed smoke and pheromone, their inflight behaviour was dependent on the instantaneous structure of the plume they encountered. When a male intercepted an intact ribbon filament, he sustained a crosswind course, whereas when he intercepted a turbulent filament (created by an upwind male fragmenting the ribbon plume), he adopted a flight course more due upwind. These results indicate that C. cautella males altered their in‐flight manoeuvres in response to instantaneous changes in the fine structure of the pheromone plume. We also demonstrated that differences in the fine structure of the plume had more influence on the flight pattern of C. cautella males than a 1000‐fold range in pheromone dose. The size of the plume was increased by adding wind deflectors upwind of the pheromone source, independent of source dosage, males following ribbon plumes flew slow zigzag tracks, whereas males following large, turbulent plumes flew directly to the source in fast, straight tracks with less counterturning.
The mechanisms by which the application of formulated pheromone interferes with mating in the pin... more The mechanisms by which the application of formulated pheromone interferes with mating in the pink bollworm moth (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella were examined in 0.4 ha cotton fields using high‐dose (78 mg A.I.) sealed polyethylene dispensers. Walk‐in, field wind tunnels 6.2 m long were placed over two rows of cotton. Treatments consisted of a control, a tunnel in a field free of disruptant formulation; a 3‐rope treatment, in which the field was free of pheromone but one of the cotton rows in the wind tunnel was treated with 3 PBW ropes; and a rope‐grid treatment, in which the field was treated with PBW ropes at the standard density of 1000 ha−1 and one of the cotton rows inside the wind tunnel was treated with 3 PBW ropes. We released marked males into the tunnels near sunset or held them in field cages for 24 h prior to assay. Two pheromone traps at the tunnel's upwind end monitored the ability of males to locate point sources of pheromone. In the 3‐rope tunnel, traps placed u...
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