Cooperband Miriam F, Murman Kelly
Forest Pest Methods Laboratory, USDA APHIS PPQ S&T, Buzzards Bay, MA, United States.
Front Insect Sci. 2022 Sep 8;2:981832. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2022.981832. eCollection 2022.
Spotted lanternflies (SLF) are economically important invasive planthoppers discovered in North America in 2014. SLF are gregarious, but how they locate each other, or who finds whom and when, is poorly understood. Here we describe adult SLF behavior and phenology on their preferred host, , under field conditions, in the context of both aggregation and mate-location, since SLF demonstrated aggregation prior to mating. We documented aggregation behavior of adults and found we could manipulate free-living SLF populations in both number and sex ratio by the placement of confined populations of SLF males or females on trees. Trap capture of arriving SLF was significantly higher on trees with confined SLF aggregations than on control trees, and was corroborated with photographic data, demonstrating the manipulation of attraction and aggregation behavior. Sex ratios of trapped SLF arrivals were significantly more male-biased on trees with confined males and more female-biased on trees with confined females, evidence that the male- and female-biased sex ratios observed on trees naturally can be explained by sex-specific conspecific signals. SLF sex ratios shifted over time in the same pattern over two consecutive years. A mark-release-recapture study over time found that 1) SLF behavior is density dependent and strongly influenced by natural populations, 2) released females were captured significantly more on trees with caged females, particularly prior to mating, and 3) released males were captured significantly more on trees with caged females starting at mating time. Photographic data revealed that most clustering behavior (a measure of courtship) of free-living SLF began on trees with caged females during mating time, but not on trees with caged males or controls. We describe adult male and female SLF phenology whereby 1) aggregation behavior occurs, 2) males and females arrive at different times, 3) females began to aggregate several weeks prior to mating, 4) males subsequently joined aggregations at the time of mating, and 5) aggregation continued into oviposition. Population density and aggregation behavior were found to be key factors in their natural history which can be manipulated, providing a foothold for future research. Possible mechanisms for future exploration are discussed.
斑衣蜡蝉是2014年在北美发现的具有重要经济意义的入侵性飞虱。斑衣蜡蝉具有群居性，但它们如何相互定位，或者谁在何时找到谁，目前还知之甚少。在此，我们描述了成年斑衣蜡蝉在野外条件下，在其偏好宿主上的行为和物候，这涉及聚集和寻找配偶两方面，因为斑衣蜡蝉在交配前就表现出聚集行为。我们记录了成虫的聚集行为，发现通过在树上放置圈养的斑衣蜡蝉雄性或雌性群体，我们可以控制自由生活的斑衣蜡蝉种群数量和性别比例。在有圈养斑衣蜡蝉聚集的树上，诱捕到的到达的斑衣蜡蝉数量显著高于对照树，这一结果得到了照片数据的证实，证明了对吸引和聚集行为的操控。在有圈养雄性的树上，诱捕到的到达的斑衣蜡蝉的性别比例显著偏向雄性，而在有圈养雌性的树上则显著偏向雌性，这表明在树上自然观察到的偏向雄性和雌性的性别比例可以由特定性别的同种信号来解释。斑衣蜡蝉的性别比例在连续两年中以相同模式随时间变化。一项随时间进行的标记重捕研究发现：1）斑衣蜡蝉的行为依赖于密度，且受自然种群的强烈影响；2）释放的雌性在有笼养雌性的树上被捕获的数量显著更多，尤其是在交配前；3）从交配时开始，释放的雄性在有笼养雌性的树上被捕获的数量显著更多。照片数据显示，自由生活的斑衣蜡蝉的大多数集群行为（一种求偶行为的衡量指标）在交配时始于有笼养雌性的树上，而在有笼养雄性的树或对照树上则没有。我们描述了成年斑衣蜡蝉雄性和雌性的物候，即：1）出现聚集行为；2）雄性和雌性在不同时间到达；3）雌性在交配前几周开始聚集；4）雄性随后在交配时加入聚集；5）聚集持续到产卵。种群密度和聚集行为被发现是它们自然史中的关键因素，这些因素可以被操控，为未来的研究提供了一个立足点。文中还讨论了未来可供探索的可能机制。
