Adult Emergence and Reproductive Behavior of the Leafcurling Midge Dasineura mali (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Abstract

The leafcurling midges Dasineura mali Kieffer collected as mature larvae in curled apple leaves were brought to the laboratory where they left leaves and pupated in boxes of soil. Two to 3 wk later, adult eclosion showed a diel periodicity, peak eclosion occurring between 0600 and 1000 hours. Within this period, peak male eclosion typically occurred 1–2.5 h earlier than peak female eclosion. For males, wing fanning, mating, and flight first occurred, on average, 30, 32, and 41 min after eclosion, respectively. For virgin females, calling behavior and mating first occurred, on average, 16 and 38 min after eclosion, respectively. Calling events were of variable duration (0.3–55 min) and occurred most frequently between 0900 and 1500 hours. Males mated many times, whereas females mated only once or twice. After mating, females sat for ≈1 h before taking their 1st flight. In a windtunnel, percentages of females taking-off, flying upwind, and exhibiting examining behaviors on apple leaves increased from the morning to the afternoon. In an apple orchard, traps placed below the canopy of trees caught more males than traps placed in the tree canopy. The relevance of this information for the isolation and identification of behaviorally active chemicals (i.e., pheromones and kairomones) is discussed.