Visually Mediated ‘Paratrooper Copulations’ in the Mating Behavior of Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a Highly Destructive Invasive Pest of North American Ash Trees

Lelito, Jonathan P.; Fraser, Ivich; Mastro, Victor C.; Tumlinson, James H.; Böröczky, Katalin; Baker, Thomas C.

doi:10.1007/s10905-007-9097-9

Cited by 98 publications

(145 citation statements)

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“…This behavior is characterized by the male rapidly descending from up to a meter above the female to 'pounce' directly onto her. The repeatability of the visually guided mating behavior was first documented in detail for Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire 1888 males approaching dead pinned specimens (Lelito et al, 2007(Lelito et al, , 2009. Similar behavior was later determined to exist for other arboreal Agrilus species Lelito et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Previous video-recorded observations of A. planipennis and A. biguttatus males (Lelito et al, 2007;Domingue et al, 2014) showed initial flights of up to 1 m lasting as long 1 s, often followed by a brief 100-200 ms hovering period within approximately 25 cm of a pinned dead beetle targeted for mating or a synthetic decoy. After hovering, the males usually flew toward one of the presented mating targets in a flight with a duration of less than 200 ms.…”

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, documentation of color preferences in mate selection has been less commonly described (Silberglied and Taylor, 1978;Kemp and Rutowski, 2011;Sánchez-Guillén et al, 2013). Male buprestid beetles (Coleoptera) perform visually guided mating flights toward females (Gwynne and Rentz, 1983;Lelito et al, 2007Lelito et al, , 2011Domingue et al, 2014), making them promising candidates for the exploration of the mechanisms of color selection in beetles. The Buprestidae is a highly diverse family of 15,000 species (Bellamy, 2008), whose members are known for their dazzling arrays of metallic coloration patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differences in spectral selectivity between stages of visually-guided mating approaches in a buprestid beetle

Domingue

Lelito

Myrick

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Spectral mating preferences were examined in male Agrilus angustulus (Buprestidae: Coleoptera), a member of a taxon known for its high species diversity and striking metallic coloration. The spectral emission profile of a typical A. angustulus female displays low chroma, broadly overlapping that of the green oak leaves they feed and rest upon, while also including longer wavelengths. To pinpoint behaviorally significant spectral regions for A. angustulus males during mate selection, we observed their field approaches to females of five Agrilus planipennis color morphs that have greater chroma than the normal conspecific female targets. Agrilus angustulus males would initially fly equally frequently toward any of the three longest wavelength morphs (green, copper and red) whose spectral emission profiles all overlap that of typical A. angustulus females. However, they usually only completed approaches toward the two longest wavelength morphs, but not the green morphs. Thus, spectral preference influenced mate selection by A. angustulus males, and their discrimination of suitable targets became greater as these targets were approached. This increasing spectral discrimination when approaching targets may have evolved to allow female emissions to remain somewhat cryptic, while also being visible to conspecifics as distinct from the background vegetation and heterospecific competitors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differences in spectral selectivity between stages of visually-guided mating approaches in a buprestid beetle

Domingue

Lelito

Myrick

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…This species is a tree-killing pest of Asian origin whose visual signal is emitted by the elytra of a female at rest on an ash leaf in direct sunlight, which triggers attraction of flying males that are patrolling the canopy. Male responses unfold as rapid flights toward the females from heights of up to 2 m, usually terminating with the males alighting directly on the females and attempting to copulate (15). This "paratrooper" descent behavior by flying A. planipennis males in the field can be repeatedly evoked by affixing dead A. planipennis females to ash leaves (15,16).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male responses unfold as rapid flights toward the females from heights of up to 2 m, usually terminating with the males alighting directly on the females and attempting to copulate (15). This "paratrooper" descent behavior by flying A. planipennis males in the field can be repeatedly evoked by affixing dead A. planipennis females to ash leaves (15,16). Furthermore, various other potentially invasive European and North American tree-feeding Agrilus species have been observed performing similar stereotypical inflight descents onto dead beetle decoys affixed to the leaves of preferred host trees (17,18).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioreplicated visual features of nanofabricated buprestid beetle decoys evoke stereotypical male mating flights

Domingue¹,

Lakhtakia²,

Pulsifer³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Recent advances in nanoscale bioreplication processes present the potential for novel basic and applied research into organismal behavioral processes. Insect behavior potentially could be affected by physical features existing at the nanoscale level. We used nanobioreplicated visual decoys of female emerald ash borer beetles (Agrilus planipennis) to evoke stereotypical mate-finding behavior, whereby males fly to and alight on the decoys as they would on real females. Using an industrially scalable nanomolding process, we replicated and evaluated the importance of two features of the outer cuticular surface of the beetle's wings: structural interference coloration of the elytra by multilayering of the epicuticle and fine-scale surface features consisting of spicules and spines that scatter light into intense strands. Two types of decoys that lacked one or both of these elements were fabricated, one type nano-bioreplicated and the other 3D-printed with no bioreplicated surface nanostructural elements. Both types were colored with green paint. The light-scattering properties of the nano-bioreplicated surfaces were verified by shining a white laser on the decoys in a dark room and projecting the scattering pattern onto a white surface. Regardless of the coloration mechanism, the nano-bioreplicated decoys evoked the complete attraction and landing sequence of Agrilus males. In contrast, males made brief flying approaches toward the decoys without nanostructured features, but diverted away before alighting on them. The nano-bioreplicated decoys were also electroconductive, a feature used on traps such that beetles alighting onto them were stunned, killed, and collected. nanofabrication | structural color | spectral emission | visual response | supercontinuum laser

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Genome‐wide SNP identification in Fraxinus linking genetic characteristics to tolerance of Agrilus planipennis

Hale

Jordan

Iriarte

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Ash (Fraxinus spp.) is one of the most widely distributed tree genera in North America. Populations of ash in the United States and Canada have been decimated by the introduced pest Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae; emerald ash borer), having negative impacts on both forest ecosystems and economic interests. The majority of trees succumb to attack by A. planipennis, but some trees have been found to be tolerant to infestation despite years of exposure. Restriction site‐associated DNA (RAD) sequencing was used to sequence ash individuals, both tolerant and susceptible to A. planipennis attack, in order to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) patterns related to tolerance and health declines. de novo SNPs were called using SAMtools and, after filtering criteria were implemented, a set of 17,807 SNPs were generated. Principal component analysis (PCA) of SNPs aligned individual trees into clusters related to geography; however, five tolerant trees clustered together despite geographic location. A subset of 32 outlier SNPs identified within this group, as well as a subset of 17 SNPs identified based on vigor rating, are potential candidates for the selection of host tolerance. Understanding the mechanisms of host tolerance through genome‐wide association has the potential to restore populations with cultivars that are able to withstand A. planipennis infestation. This study was successful in using RAD‐sequencing in order to identify SNPs that could contribute to tolerance of A. planipennis. This was a first step toward uncovering the genetic basis for host tolerance to A. planipennis. Future studies are needed to identify the functionality of the loci where these SNPs occur and how they may be related to tolerance of A. planipennis attack.

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Visually Mediated ‘Paratrooper Copulations’ in the Mating Behavior of Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a Highly Destructive Invasive Pest of North American Ash Trees

Cited by 98 publications

References 3 publications

Differences in spectral selectivity between stages of visually-guided mating approaches in a buprestid beetle

Differences in spectral selectivity between stages of visually-guided mating approaches in a buprestid beetle

Bioreplicated visual features of nanofabricated buprestid beetle decoys evoke stereotypical male mating flights

Genome‐wide SNP identification in Fraxinus linking genetic characteristics to tolerance of Agrilus planipennis

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