Abstract
Two moths that infest bee hives, the lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, and the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, generate ultrasonic pulses by buckling tymbals. Lesser wax moth males call continuously, producing 100‐kHz sound pulses by which females orient and find them. Greater wax moth males generate a short series of 75‐kHz sound pulses, but females find them by orienting to male pheromone. Females wing fan in response to male sound and may signal males to release more pheromone to guide them. In contrast, each tymbal of the related rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica, has nine striae that buckle and recover in sequence to produce 125‐kHz sound in an irregular train of pulses. Female moths may not distinguish 7.5‐ms pulse trains from 7.5‐ms bursts of continuous sound. Both lesser wax moths and rice moths can be located and identified by detecting the sound of calling males. Acoustical traps may prove useful for monitoring or controlling populations.
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