Effects of delayed mating on male mating success and female reproductive performance of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Abstract

Phenacoccus solenopsis is a devastating pest of cotton. It causes significance losses in cotton crops in China, India and Pakistan. Recently, chemical control is best tool for its management but delayed mating effects and pheromone-mediated disruption technique is still unknown. In this experiment, we study effects of male-only, female-only and both sexes delayed mating on mating success, reproduction and longevity of P. solenopsis. Effects of male-only and female-only delayed mating was assessed by pairing of different hours old males with 13-days old females and different days old females with 2-h-old males, respectively. Results showed that male-only delayed mating increased the female prereproduction period and male longevity, reduced the oviposition period, fecundity and mating success, and did not affect the preoviposition period and female longevity. Conversely, female-only delayed mating did not change the male mating success and male longevity. Female-only delayed mating gradually decrease the prereproductive period and continuously increase preoviposition period and longevity. Oviposition period did not change until age exceeded 34 days, and fecundity remained constant until age exceeded 26 days in female-only delay mating. Both sexes delayed mating reduced the fecundity, mating success, prereproduction and oviposition period, but greatly increased the preoviposition period and male and female longevities. These results suggest that mating disruption techniques, such as application of sex pheromones, will be very useful for the management of P. solenopsis under the field level either applying alone or using with integrated pest management tools.