Mating compatibility among populations of codling moth Cydia pomonella Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) from different geographic origins

Abstract

The codling moth Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a serious pest of pome fruit worldwide and the sterile insect technique (SIT) provides an environmentally acceptable approach for its control. As the pest is present in both the southern and northern hemispheres it would be possible for a rearing facility in the northern hemisphere to supply sterile moths to an SIT programme in the southern hemisphere during the northern winter and vice versa. This could greatly improve the economics of moth production and the running costs of rearing facilities. However in order to develop this concept, it is important to assess if populations of codling moth from different geographical regions share mating compatibility. Twelve different laboratory and field populations from both hemispheres were sampled and field cage bisexual mating compatibility tests were carried out between selected combinations. The index of sexual isolation (ISI) and the female and male relative performance index (FRPI and MRPI, respectively) were calculated for each mating combination. In only two of the combinations was there a slight but significant deviation from random mating. There were also some significant differences in mating duration between the homotypic matings and the duration of a particular homotypic mating seemed to depend on the origin of the other population in the cage. It was concluded that there exist no barriers to mating between populations of codling moth from many parts of the world and that it would be feasible for sterile moths to be shipped from one rearing facility to SIT programmes in other parts of the world.

Evaluating mating compatibility within fruit fly cryptic species complexes and the potential role of sex pheromones in pre-mating isolation

“…For tsetse flies see Mutika et al (2001, 2013) and for an evaluation of mating compatibility among codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L) populations from different regions of the world see Taret et al (2010).…”

Mating performance of Glossina palpalis gambiensis strains from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal

“…These studies had far-reaching implications for the application of the SIT: no mating barriers were found between populations of the Mediterranean fruit fly from different continents and hemispheres. These mating studies have now been expanded to other insect groups such as Lepidoptera, and a recent study found also no mating barriers between the codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., populations from different continents and hemispheres (Taret et al, 2010). Conversely, distinct mating barriers were found between populations of A. fraterculus originating from Argentina, Peru, and Brazil implying that AW-IPM programmes with an SIT component can only be implemented using strains for rearing and release that originate from the same geographic region.…”

A flight cylinder bioassay as a simple, effective quality control test for Cydia pomonella

“…Although the codling moth has established throughout most of the apple‐producing areas of the world, studies have revealed the absence of mating barriers between codling moths collected from five different continents (Robinson and Proverbs 1973; Bloem et al. 2010; Taret et al. 2010) and a low level of genetic diversity among codling moth populations from different geographical origins (Pashley and Bush 1979; Buès and Toubon 1992; Buès et al.…”