Abstract
The greenhouse whitefly (GW), Trialeurodes vaporariorum is considered one of the most harmful insect pests in greenhouses worldwide. The GW mating behavior has been partially investigated and its vibrational communication is only in part known. A deeper knowledge of its intraspecific communication is required to evaluate the applicability of control methods based on techniques of behavioral manipulation. In this study, for the first time, we provided a detailed ethogram of the GW mating behavior and we characterized the vibrational signals emitted during the process of pair formation. We characterized two types of male vibrational emissions (“chirp” and “pulses”), differently arranged according to the behavioral stage to form stage-specific signals, and a previously undescribed Male Rivalry Signal. We recorded and characterized two new female signals: The Female Responding Signal and the Female Rejective Signal. The mating behavior of GW can be divided into six different stages that we named “call”, “alternated duet”, “courtship”, “overlapped duet”, “mating”, “failed mating attempt”. The analysis performed with the Markovian behavioral transition matrix showed that the “courtship” is the key stage in which male exhibits its quality and can lead to the “overlapped duet” stage. The latter is strictly associated to the female acceptance and therefore it plays a crucial role to achieve mating success. Based on our findings, we consider the use of vibrational playbacks interfering with GW mating communication a promising option for pest control in greenhouses. We discuss the possibility to start a research program of behavioral manipulation to control the populations of GW.
Highlights
The greenhouse whitefly (GW), Trialeurodes vaporariorum is considered one of the most harmful insect pests in greenhouses worldwide
Both signals are composed of a series of pulses of similar duration across the different stages, they can considerably vary in terms of fundamental frequency, pulse repetition time and total signal duration
From the comparison of the signals features taken from the exp.[1] and exp.[3] we found that the fundamental frequency of chirp and pulse train (PT) signals was significantly higher in males duos than in single male experiments (PT, t-test: t = 3.41, P < 0.001)
Summary
The greenhouse whitefly (GW), Trialeurodes vaporariorum is considered one of the most harmful insect pests in greenhouses worldwide. While the effects of the essential oils on the human health and on natural enemies are still controversial, the efficacy of the biological control agents is not always easy to achieve, depending upon numerous factors such as host plant quality, temperature, usage of fertilizer, dimension of the greenhouse, stage of infestation[14]. In this context, together with the increasing request of new environmentally sound approaches, the development of innovative techniques that do not rely on the use of chemicals, that can be easy to apply and with constant efficacy to control the GW, are largely demanded
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