Pre-Courtship Behavior and the Effect of Age on Its Duration inDiatraea magnifactella(Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Abstract

To understand the chemical interaction of Diatraea magnifactella Dyar (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) with its conspecifics, the aim of the present paper was to describe and determine the effect of age on the duration of pre-courtship behavior in the female of D. magnifactella. To do so, we established a colony of D. magnifactella in the laboratory and placed 60 newly emerged females individually in 15 × 15 cm (height × width) acrylic cases. Then, we observed the behavior and effect of age on the duration of pre-courtship in the females for 11 d. The pre-courtship behavior of D. magnifactella was described based on the pre-courtship behavior of Diatraea considerata Heinrich, whereas the relationship between the duration of the pre-courtship behavior and the age of the female was determined through a non-linear regression analysis. The pre-courtship behavior of D. magnifactella females began with the separation of the wings from the body and the rhythmic movement of the antennae. After this, the female rotated its body on the surface where it was located, flexed its body, and exposed its sex gland. Pre-courtship started 6 h after the onset of darkness. It lasted longest on days 3 to 6 after it began. The duration decreased from day 5 until it ended on day 10. This pattern indicated that the age of the female plays a negative role in the duration of the pre-courtship activity in D. magnifactella.