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Flying Faster: Flight Height Affects Orthokinetic Responses During Moth Flight to Sex Pheromone

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Abstract

Male Oriental Fruit Moths (Grapholita molesta) flew faster toward a pheromone source as they flew higher above striped and dotted floor patterns. The moths significantly (P < 0.05) increased their ground speed over floor patterns of transverse stripes or pseudo randomly placed dots. The moths’ track angles (flight path angle off the windline) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) when they flew 40 cm above the floor patterns vs. flight at 10 cm up, and they tended to steer more upwind flight (smaller course angles) at the upper, 40 cm, height compared to 10 cm up. Turn frequencies and reversal distances across the wind line were also affected by dot density. However, the interaction of small changes in flight speed, course angle, turn widths and turn frequencies are difficult to assess; I have subsumed all their affects into a simple measure of “total distance” flown by the moths by summing the length of all flight vectors analyzed for the other metrics, but no differences were found. By far, the largest change in flight was the positive orthokinetic response to increased flight height above both striped and dotted floor patterns (Fig. 2; P < 0.05), and nearly all other changes appear to be entirely due to faster moth flight with little or no changes in steering or turning patterns.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Sarah Hofer for rearing the insects and for assistance with data transcription. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity employer.

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  1. USDA, ARS, Crop Protection and Quality, 9611 S. Riverbend Avenue, Parlier, CA, 93648, USA

    L. P. S. Kuenen

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  1. L. P. S. Kuenen
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Correspondence to L. P. S. Kuenen.

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Kuenen, L.P.S. Flying Faster: Flight Height Affects Orthokinetic Responses During Moth Flight to Sex Pheromone. J Insect Behav 26, 57–68 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-012-9333-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-012-9333-9

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