Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-Products Safety, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Plant Science Education, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.
School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
J Insect Sci. 2020 Mar 1;20(2). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieaa009.
Age at mating is one of the most important factors that affect mating success and reproductive fitness in insects. The present study investigated how the age of the two sexes at mating determined mating success, reproductive fitness and longevity in Phauda flammans (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Phaudidae), a serious pest of Ficus spp. trees in South and Southeast Asia. The study may provide basic knowledge for the development of mating disruption programs using sex pheromones to control this pest. The species is monandrous and its adults live for only 4-5 d. We show that delayed mating significantly lowered mating success in both sexes, with males being more severely affected than females. Mating delay also reduced reproductive outputs of both sexes but females were more negatively affected than males. We did not find any effect of delayed mating on longevity of either sex. Our findings suggest that mating disruption with sex pheromones can be an effective method to delay mating in P. flammans, reducing reproductive success and thus limit population growth.
交配年龄是影响昆虫交配成功率和生殖适应性的最重要因素之一。本研究调查了两性的交配年龄如何决定交配成功率、生殖适应性和寿命在南亚和东南亚榕果榕小蜂（Phauda flammans（Walker））（鳞翅目：榕小蜂科）中的作用，榕果榕小蜂是榕属植物的严重害虫。本研究可能为利用性信息素来开发交配干扰项目以控制这种害虫提供基础知识。该物种是单配制的，其成虫的寿命只有 4-5 天。我们表明，交配延迟显著降低了两性的交配成功率，雄性受到的影响比雌性更严重。交配延迟也降低了两性的生殖产出，但雌性受到的影响比雄性更严重。我们没有发现交配延迟对任何性别寿命的影响。我们的研究结果表明，性信息素交配干扰可以是一种有效的方法来延迟 P. flammans 的交配，降低生殖成功率，从而限制种群增长。
