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Male Colorado potato beetles alter search behavior in response to prior female presence on potato plants

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Abstract

For Colorado potato beetle, an integrated approach including semiochemicals and other nonpesticidal tactics is essential to sustainable management. A volatile aggregation pheromone produced by male adult beetles is attractive to both females and males. Yet earlier research also indicates that males respond to a yet-unidentified female-produced sex pheromone. We investigated male Colorado potato beetle behavior on potato plants that had been exposed to females only, males only, mixed-sex groups, or no beetles (clean plants). During observation, these plants hosted no beetles except for the single experimental male beetle. These males (previously mated or unmated) responded very differently to female-exposed plants, spending longer time on these plants, undertaking characteristic active searching behavior, exploring more leaves per plant, and moving more rapidly between leaves, compared to male-exposed or unexposed plants. When presented with a three-way choice, males spent about five times longer on the female-exposed foliage, compared to either male-exposed or clean leaves. Searching parameters differed between mated and unmated males, but both showed similar reactions to female-exposed plants; there was little to no statistical interaction between male mated condition and plant treatment. Results strongly indicate the presence of a persistent female-produced pheromone significantly influencing male searching behavior and between-plant movement.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for support from the Swiss National Foundation for a joint project of DCW with Árpád Szentesi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. Discussions with Árpád Szentesi and Tibor Jermy informed the experimental setup. Swiss work was undertaken thanks to ETH Zürich Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, Angewandte Entomologie, Prof. Dr. Silvia Dorn. Elke Rometsch of Universität Konstanz, and Nicolas Fellay and Peter Schumacher of ETH Zürich, assisted with rearing of Swiss beetles. Thanks go to Taissae Sanchez Medina of University of Puerto Rico for assistance with American beetle experiments. We are grateful for the helpful comments of an anonymous reviewer. Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation by the USDA for its use. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, BARC-West, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA

    Donald C. Weber, Jian J. Duan & Ariela I. Haber

  2. Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Newark, DE, USA

    Jian J. Duan

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  1. Donald C. Weber
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  2. Jian J. Duan
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  3. Ariela I. Haber
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Contributions

DCW and JJD conceived and designed experiments. All authors conducted experiments. AIH analyzed data. DCW and AIH wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Donald C. Weber.

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Communicated by M. Traugott.

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Weber, D.C., Duan, J.J. & Haber, A.I. Male Colorado potato beetles alter search behavior in response to prior female presence on potato plants. J Pest Sci 93, 595–604 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-019-01181-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-019-01181-x

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