Roselli Gerardo, Anfora Gianfranco, Suckling David Maxwell, Mazzoni Valerio, Vanoni Valentina, Menegotti Loris, Fellin Lorenzo, Rossi Stacconi Marco Valerio, Ioriatti Claudio, Cristofaro Massimo
Center Agriculture, Food and Environment (C3A), University of Trento, 38098 San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
Technology Transfer Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38098 San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
Insects. 2023 May 13;14(5):460. doi: 10.3390/insects14050460.
The brown marmorated stink bug, , is a pentatomid bug of Eastern Asian origin that became an economically relevant pest in the Eurasian and American continents. Management of this species is limited to use of chemical insecticides: an inefficient method due to the strong adaptability of the target pest. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is potentially a valid tactic in the search for nontoxic alternatives. In this work, we investigated the suitability of mass-trapped overwintering males, collected during the aggregation phase before the winter diapause, for their release as competitive sterile males in an SIT programme. Differently from previous studies, irradiation was applied with a linear accelerator device that produced high-energy photons. Following a similar scientific protocol with newly emerged irradiated males, the effects of X-ray irradiation on physiological parameters (longevity, fecundity and fertility) were assessed. In addition, behavioural bioassays were carried out in no-choice conditions to evaluate if irradiation interferes with mating processes. The results are very encouraging; the effects of the irradiation at 32 Gy did not differ from the controls in the longevity or fecundity of the exposed overwintering adults. The hatching rate of the eggs laid by the fertile females that had mated with the irradiated males was less than 5%. The results of behavioural bioassays showed that the irradiation did not cause a significant impact on the quality of the sterile males. More research is warranted to evaluate the mating competitiveness of sterile males in semi-field and field conditions.
棕色马毛臭虫是一种原产于东亚的蝽象科昆虫，它已成为欧亚大陆和美洲大陆具有经济影响的害虫。对该物种的防治仅限于使用化学杀虫剂，由于目标害虫适应性强，这种方法效率低下。昆虫不育技术（SIT）可能是寻找无毒替代方法的有效策略。在这项研究中，我们调查了在冬季滞育前的聚集阶段捕获的大量越冬雄虫，作为昆虫不育技术项目中具有竞争力的不育雄虫释放的适用性。与之前的研究不同，我们使用产生高能光子的直线加速器装置进行辐照。遵循与新羽化的辐照雄虫相似的科学方案，评估了X射线辐照对生理参数（寿命、繁殖力和生育力）的影响。此外，在无选择条件下进行了行为生物测定，以评估辐照是否会干扰交配过程。结果非常令人鼓舞；32 Gy辐照对暴露的越冬成虫的寿命或繁殖力的影响与对照无差异。与辐照雄虫交配的可育雌虫所产卵的孵化率低于5%。行为生物测定结果表明，辐照对不育雄虫的质量没有显著影响。需要进行更多研究来评估不育雄虫在半田间和田间条件下的交配竞争力。
