Controlling infestation of a chocolate factory by Plodia interpunctella by combining mating disruption and the parasitoid Habrobracon hebetor

A field experiment of 4 years＇ duration was carried out to evaluate the ef- ficacy of combining the mating disruption （MD） formulation Dismate ZETA （（9Z,12E）- tetradecadienyl acetate）, with the parasitoid Habrobracon hebetor against the Indianmeal moth Plodia interpunctella in a chocolate factory. The experimental period began early in 2011 and ended in late 2014. Begane Dismate dispensers were placed in the facility from 2011 to 2014 and H. hebetor was released in 2014. Pheromone-baited traps were used to monitor the flight activity of the male moths and oviposition Petri dish traps were placed to assess the progeny production ofP. interpunctella females. Following the start of MD, a decrease in the number ofP. interpunctella males caught in monitoring traps was observed from 2011 to 2013. A further decline in the moth population was noted in 2014, when MD was combined with the release of parasitoids. The presence of larvae in the oviposition cups was occasionally observed throughout the monitoring period, from 2011 to 2014. This study demonstrates that the combined system of MD and parasitoids is an effective and reliable technique that can be used to successfully control P. interpunctella.

Management of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella （Lepidoptera： Plutellidae） by mating disruption

Field trials were conducted in China in 2008 and 2009 to evaluate the efficacy of mating disruption （MD） on diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, in cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata. Effectiveness was positively correlated with the MD dispenser density in the field. A density of 167 MD dispensers per ha produced an average population decrease of about 50% compared to the conventional-practice field. Significant fewer males were captured in pheromone-treated and conventional-practice fields than in the blank control field, but the difference was not significant between the pheromone-treated and conventional-practice fields. In addition, fewer eggs and larvae were observed in pheromone-treated fields. Our results suggest mating disruption coupled with minimal insecticidal supplements is a promising solution for resistance management and control of diamondback moth infestation.

The combination of NlMIP and Gαi/q coupled-receptor NlA10promotes abdominal vibration production in female Nilaparvata lugens(Stal)

For various sexually mature insects,including the brown planthopper(BPH,Nilaparvata lugens),the abdominal vibration(AV)signal is the initiation of the mating process,and itiscritical to the successofmating.Currently,there are few studies on the genetic and molecular mechanisms of AV regulation.Ourprevious AV-related transcriptomic study in female BPH identified myoinhibitory peptide(NlMIP)as a gene that potentially affects AV statusinfemales,buthow NlMIP affects AV status remains unknown.In this study,we confirmed that NlMIP regulates AV production and mating behavior in female BPH.When the RNAi knockdown efficiency of NlMIP was 59.00%,the probability of females producing AV and the mating rate in 1 h decreased by 38.89 and 61.11%,respectively.In addition,six mature peptides of NlMIP were synthesized and they were able to regulate AV production and mating behavior in females,with NlMIP2having the strongest effect.The A-family neuropeptide GPCR 10(NlA10)was found to be a potential receptor for NlMIP based on a phylogenetic tree analysis and the fact that NlMIP mature peptides effectively activated NlA10.After NlA10was knocked down,the probability of females producing AV and the mating rate in 1 h had reductions of 28.89 and 43.33%,respectively.When activated by NlMIP2,NlA10 coupled the Gαi/q signalling pathways,thereby inhibiting the downstream AC/cAMP/PKA,activating the PLC/Ca^(2+)/PKC signalling pathways and then activating MEK1/2 in a cascade to mediate the phosphorylation of ERK1/2,and finally regulating the AV of females.These results provide a basis for the prevention and control of the brown planthopper pest by disrupting female AV.

Deterministic and Stochastic Fractional Order Model for Lesser Date Moth

In this paper,a deterministic and stochastic fractional order model for lesser date moth(LDM)using mating disruption and natural enemies is proposed and analysed.The interaction between LDM larvae,fertilized LDM female,unfertilized LDM female,LDM male and the natural enemy is investigated.In order to clarify the characteristics of the proposed deterministic fractional order model,the analysis of existence,uniqueness,non-negativity and boundedness of the solutions of the proposed fractional-order model are examined.In addition,some sufficient conditions are obtained to ensure the local and global stability of equilibrium points.The occurrence of local bifurcation near the equilibrium points is investigated with the help of Sotomayor’s theorem.Numerical simulations are conducted to illustrate the properties of the proposed fractional order model with respect to the intrinsic growth rate of the LDM larvae,natural enemy’s mortality rate,predation rate,sex pheromone trap parameter,fractional order and environmental noise.The impact of mating disruption on lesser date moth is demonstrated.Also,a numerical approximation method is developed for the proposed stochastic fractional-order model.