Effects of Diaphorina citri Population Density on Daily Timing of Vibrational Communication Calls: Potential Benefits in Finding Forage

Abstract

Adult Diaphorina citri (ACP) use visual and chemical cues to locate young citrus flush shoots on which they forage and oviposit, and they use vibrational communication duetting calls as cues to help locate mates. For individual pairs, calling and mating usually peaks between 10:00 and 15:00. To explore whether call rates (calls/h) are affected by interactions with nearby conspecifics, rates were compared in small citrus trees on which either 5 or 25 ACP female and male pairs had been released at 17:00 for later recording from sunrise (06:00) to 22:00. Final ACP locations were noted 40 h after release. Call rates were similar in both treatments during normal mating hours. However, rates were significantly higher for low- than high-density treatments between 06:00 and 10:00, which suggests calling during this period may be affected by conspecific density. Both sexes aggregated on flush at both densities. We discuss the potential that ACP producing calls near sunrise, outside of normal mating hours, might benefit from gains in reproductive fitness in low-density contexts if they call not only to locate mates but also to locate preferred flush—in which case, co-opting of vibrations to disrupt both mating and foraging may be feasible.