Pre-exposure to sex pheromone did not affect mating behavior in the sweetpotato weevil Cylas formicarius

Abstract

In sterile insect technique (SIT) programs, the released sterile males are important for their effectiveness. The use of sex pheromones to collect males is economical; however, pre-exposure to sex pheromones may affect male mating behavior, and would thus reduce the effectiveness of the SIT programs. Males exposed to sex pheromone may become attractive to other males due to pheromone adsorption on their body impregnation, prevent mating and reduce the dispersal of sterile males. We examined the effect of pre-exposure to sex pheromone on the mating behavior of male sweetpotato weevil Cylas formicarius. Pre-exposure to high-dose sex pheromone for 24 h did not affect the male mating behavior of C. formicarius, and the exposed males did not attract other males. These results suggest that male C. formicarius that were collected from a mass-rearing facility using sex pheromone can be effectively used in SIT programs.