Diet impacts the reproductive system’s maturation in the male moth Agrotis ipsilon (Noctuidae, Lepidoptera)

Force, Evan; Couzi, Philippe; Dacher, Matthieu; Debernard, Stéphane

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104532

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The morphology of its mouth parts seems suitable to feed on nectars from flowers with short corollas, as suggested by other works on moths ( Krenn, 1990 ; 2010 ). A recent study ( Force et al, 2023 ) also showed that the speed of sexual maturation in A. ipsilon adults is determined by the quality of its nectar diet. Therefore, A. ipsilon is a model of adult Lepidoptera whose feeding behavior is crucial for fitness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In adult Lepidoptera, energy comes from nutrients taken from the nectar of flowering plants ( Nepi et al, 2012 ; Broadhead and Raguso, 2021 ; for a review, see Roy et al, 2017 ). Although its natural repertoire of foraged flowers is not known, previous studies suggest that A. ipsilon feeds on sugar-rich nectars ( Hostachy et al, 2019 ; Force et al, 2023 ). A. ipsilon moth has a short proboscis, the length of which is approximately half its body length.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is therefore likely that feeding behavior is linked to the state of sexual maturity of moths. We had shown that adding diversified sugars and sodium in the male diet accelerated sexual maturation to the third day of adult life ( Force et al, 2023 ). Hence, we hypothesize such diets would affect flower visits in males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were bred in our laboratory at INRAE in Versailles, France. Rearing was carried out according to the protocol described by Force et al (2023) ; males and females were separated from pupation so that males are completely naïve regarding female sex-pheromone. Every Monday morning, among the emerged male or female moths, we collected and placed 1 individual in each of the five automated feeding cages (the individuals were all of the same sex during an experiment).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, upon emergence, moths readily detect (by their antennae and legs) sugar solutions and feed on them ( Hostachy et al, 2019 ); and it is during the first days of adult life that the sexual maturation of these insects takes place. Indeed, with a sucrose diet, females are sexually mature from the third day while males are sexually mature on the fifth post-emergence day ( Gemeno and Haynes, 2000 ; Force et al, 2023 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regulation of feeding dynamics by the circadian clock, light and sex in an adult nocturnal insect

Force,

Sokolowski,

Suray

et al. 2024

Front. Physiol.

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Animals invest crucial resources in foraging to support development, sustenance, and reproduction. Foraging and feeding behaviors are rhythmically expressed by most insects. Rhythmic behaviors are modified by exogenous factors like temperature and photoperiod, and internal factors such as the physiological status of the individual. However, the interactions between these factors and the circadian clock to pattern feeding behavior remains elusive. As Drosophila, a standard insect model, spends nearly all its life on food, we rather chose to focus on the adults of a non-model insect, Agrotis ipsilon, a nocturnal cosmopolitan crop pest moth having structured feeding activity. Our study aimed to explore the impact of environmental cues on directly measured feeding behavior rhythms. We took advantage of a new experimental set-up, mimicking an artificial flower, allowing us to specifically monitor feeding behavior in a naturalistic setting, e.g., the need to enter a flower to get food. We show that the frequency of flower visits is under the control of the circadian clock in males and females. Feeding behavior occurs only during the scotophase, informed by internal clock status and external photic input, and females start to visit flowers earlier than males. Shorter duration visits predominate as the night progresses. Importantly, food availability reorganizes the microstructure of feeding behavior, revealing its plasticity. Interestingly, males show a constant number of daily visits during the 5 days of adult life whereas females decrease visitations after the third day of adult life. Taken together, our results provide evidence that the rhythmicity of feeding behavior is sexually dimorphic and controlled by photoperiodic conditions through circadian clock-dependent and independent pathways. In addition, the use of the new experimental set-up provides future opportunities to examine the regulatory mechanisms of feeding behavior paving the way to investigate complex relationships between feeding, mating, and sleep-wake rhythms in insects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Regulation of feeding dynamics by the circadian clock, light and sex in an adult nocturnal insect

Force,

Sokolowski,

Suray

et al. 2024

Front. Physiol.

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Diet influence on male sexual maturation through interplay between insulin signaling and juvenile hormone in insects

Force,

Alvarez,

Fuentes

et al. 2025

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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The impact of sugar diet on humidity preference, survival, and host landing in mosquitoes

Chen,

Holmes,

Ajayi

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Mosquito-borne diseases have caused more than one million deaths each year. There is an urgent need to develop an effective way to reduce mosquito-host interaction to mitigate disease transmission. Sugar diets have long been linked to abnormal physiology in animals, making them potential candidates for mosquito control. Here, we show the impact of sugar diets on humidity preference and survival inAedes aegyptiandCulex pipiens. With two-choice assays between 100% and 75% relative humidity (RH), we demonstrate that the effect of sugar diets on humidity preference is species-specific whereAe. aegyptishowed significant differences and the reduced effects were noted inCx. pipiens. Among the sugar diets, arabinose significantly reduced the survival rate of mosquitoes even at low concentrations. Moreover, we found that host landing was not impacted by feeding on different sugar types. Our study suggests that specific sugar treatments could be applied to mosquito control by dampening their humidity preference and reducing their lifespan, thus reducing mosquito-borne disease transmission.

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Diet impacts the reproductive system’s maturation in the male moth Agrotis ipsilon (Noctuidae, Lepidoptera)

Cited by 5 publications

References 52 publications

Regulation of feeding dynamics by the circadian clock, light and sex in an adult nocturnal insect

Regulation of feeding dynamics by the circadian clock, light and sex in an adult nocturnal insect

Diet influence on male sexual maturation through interplay between insulin signaling and juvenile hormone in insects

The impact of sugar diet on humidity preference, survival, and host landing in mosquitoes

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