Courtship behavior of the castniid palm borer, Paysandisia archon: potential roles of male scents and visual cues in a day-flying moth.

Roxane Delle-Vedove,Laurence Beaudoin-Ollivier,Brigitte Frérot,Martine Hossaert-Mckey

doi:10.1093/jis/14.1.52

Abstract

The castniid palm borer, Paysandisia archon (Burmeister) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae), is a South American moth that in the last ten years has become a major pest of palm trees in the Mediterranean region. Current knowledge on the reproductive behavior of this diurnal moth suggests the importance of both visual and chemical cues, in particular the production of a male pheromone emitted during a specific scratching behavior. Male-produced scents have diverse functions in lepidopteran sexual communication but generally act during courtship behavior, leading to complex, stereotyped courtship sequences. As a first step to understand the cues involved in mating behavior and the role of male scents in male mating success, we quantified sequences of P. archon courtship behavior using video filming. To distinguish behaviors leading to an approach of both partners from those involved in short-range courtship, sequences were divided into “approach” and “interaction” phases. Quantifications and analyses were first made by NPMANOVA analysis of behavioral event frequencies, followed by flowchart construction using transition matrix probabilities. In 90% of the observations, courting activities led to copulation, but successful sequences were highly variable and could be divided into two categories, “rapid” and “prolonged” courtship sequences. In both categories, approaches were performed by males but depended strongly on female movements, especially on female flights. The significant behavioral differences were observed after the first contact (i.e., interaction phase) where, in rapid sequences, males generally acceded to copulation without displaying scratching behavior. Conversely, in prolonged sequences, the female expressed evading behavior and male scratching frequency increased. The possible roles of male scent emission in female mate choice and the importance of visual cues in the mating behavior of P. archon are discussed.

Highlights

Sexual communication in Lepidoptera involves use of visual, acoustic, and olfactory signals
In the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, male-produced chemicals have been found to act in combination with visual cues to influence mate choice by females (Costanzo and Monteiro 2007)
Based on the framework of P. archon courtship behavior proposed by Sarto I Monteys et al (2012), we focused experiments on the two main phases of courtship to describe behaviors involved in (1) detection and approach and (2) short-range interactions leading to copulation

Summary

Introduction

Sexual communication in Lepidoptera involves use of visual, acoustic, and olfactory signals. In dayflying butterflies, visual signals are primarily used for both the detection of females by males and the assessment of mating partners by females (Jiggins et al 2001; Papke et al 2007). Males of several (diurnal) butterfly species are known to produce short-range pheromones, which have recently received much attention in efforts to understand their role in mate selection by females (Costanzo and Monteiro 2007; Papke et al 2007; Nieberding et al 2008, 2012). No evidence exists that day-flying moths use both visual and chemical cues to assess mate quality, but males of some dayflying zygaenid moths are known to use both visual and chemical cues to detect females (Toshova et al 2007)

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Discussion

Conclusion