by Shira | Mar 30, 2018 |
BACKGROUND Glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is an important vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine. Area-wide insecticide applications have suppressed GWSS populations for ca. 25 years, but reduced levels of insecticide susceptibility have been reported. Therefore, alternative methods of control are needed. Objectives of this study were to evaluate efficacy of playback of vibrational mating communication signals for disrupting mating of GWSS in a natural vineyard setting and evaluate spectral properties of signal transmission through vineyard trellis. RESULTS Playback reduced mating of GWSS on grapevines. A total of 28 (out of 134) male-female pairs mated in the control treatment (silence) and only one (out of 134) pair mated when treated with the vibrational signal playback. Playback of vibrational signals through vineyard trellis was affected by distance from signal source, with frequency composition and intensity being the highest at the signal source and lowest on vines positioned away from the source. Frequency composition in canes housing test insects decreased exponentially as distance from the source increased, whereas the relative amplitude of analyzed frequencies decreased linearly. CONCLUSION Although further studies are needed prior to method implementation, data from this study continue to support integration of vibrational mating disruption with current methods to suppress GWSS populations. Krugner and Gordon. 2018. Mating disruption of Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) by playback of vibrational signals in vineyard trellis. Pest Management Science....
by Shira | Apr 11, 2017 |
Animal communication is a complex behavior that is influenced by abiotic and biotic factors of the environment. Glassy-winged sharpshooters (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), primarily use vibrational signaling for courtship communication. Because GWSS is a major pest, transmitting the plant pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, interruption of communication is a possible avenue for control. Playback of white noise, pre-recorded female signals, and artificial female noise (continuously overlapping female signals) significantly reduced mating of GWSS when compared to silent control mating trials. Furthermore, to begin to determine the mechanism underlying playback control, female signaling activity was recorded in the presence of stimuli. In response to playback of female signals, females signaled (duet-like) more often than females tested in the absence of playback. After the first playback, almost two-thirds of females signaled a response within 3s. Additionally, one-third of the females signaled within 1s after cessation of white noise, and significantly more in the time periods following noise termination. Results highlight how GWSS responds to differing competitive disturbances in the environment and lays important ground work that possibly could be used to develop pesticide-free control methods. Gordon SD, Sandoval N, Mazzoni V, Krugner R. 2017. Mating interference of glassy-winged sharpshooters, Homalodisca vitripennis. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata....
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