Diel Flight Pattern and Flight Performance of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Measured on a Flight Mill: Influence of Age, Gender, Mating Status, and Body Size

Abstract

Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is an invasive herbivore that poses a serious risk to Opuntia cacti in North America. Knowledge of the ßight behavior of the cactus moth is crucial for a better understanding of natural dispersal, and for both monitoring and control. We used computer-linked ßight mills to investigate diel ßight activity and ßight performance in relation to gender, age, mating status, and body size. Maximal ßight activity for both mated and unmated moths occurred during twilight, whereas ßight activity was low during photophase. The total distance ßown and the number of initiated ßights within a diel cycle were higher in both unmated and mated females than in males, but the longest single ßight was similar in both genders. These Þndings suggest that pheromone trap captures of males likely indicate the simultaneous presence of females and that mated females might even be in areas where males are not detected yet. Flight performance heterogeneity was large, with a small portion of the population (both males and females) performing long unbroken ßights, whereas the majority made short ßights. Females had higher pupal and adult body size and shorter longevity than males. A few individuals, particularly young mated females, ßying long distances may be important for active spread of a population and the colonization of new habitats. Implications of this study in the control of the cactus moth by using the sterile insect technique are discussed.

Effects of Larval Density on Flight Potential of the BeetWebworm,Loxostege sticticalis(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

“…The total ßight duration and ßight distance did not differ between genders. This Þnding resembles the pattern that was observed in Spoladea recurvalis with the similar ßight performance of both sexes (Shirai 2006), and differs from the pattern of Cactoblastis cactorum with longer ßights undertaken by females than males (Sarvary et al 2008b).…”

A ‘Goldilocks’ hypothesis for dispersal of biological control agents

“…A variety of laboratory techniques could be adopted in quarantine to pre-screen insect species for their flight capacity, including flight mills (Solbreck 1974;Savary et al 2008;Yu et al 2009;Zhang et al 2009) and vertical flight chambers (Bellamy and Byrne 2001;Blackmer and Cross 2001;Asplen et al 2009). For example, Asplen et al (2009) used a vertical flight chamber to examine free-flight behaviors by females of five aphelinid parasitoid species of B. tabaci and found substantial intra-and interspecific variation in flight initiation and duration, which may be explained in part by the reproductive investment of individuals or life history of species.…”

Are landscape structures insurmountable barriers for foraging bees? A mark-recapture study with two solitary pollen specialist species

“…As individual insects within a population may vary in their capacity for long flights (Keil et al, 2001), the proportion of individuals that successfully reaches distant resources is in many instances relatively low Gu et al, 2006;Pasquet et al, 2008). Conversely, a relatively high proportion of individuals can successfully cover short distances (Keil et al, 2001;Sarvary et al, 2008), coinciding with the large number of bees recaptured in the current study at the shortest possible distance categories from the nest. On the other hand, by foraging on host plant patches in the vicinity of the nest, the females of C. florisomne may reduce foraging time and energy expenditure, thereby maximizing the number of brood cells they can build within their short lifetime as adult insects.…”