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Mating Behavior and Evidence for Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromone in Cyrtomon luridus (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)

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Abstract

Cyrtomon luridus (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) is a serious pest of Duboisia sp. (Solanaceae) in Brazil. However, our knowledge of the reproductive behavior and the chemical ecology of this curculionid is based on very limited data. The aim of this study was therefore to describe the mating behavior of C. luridus and the olfactory response of males and females to volatiles of conspecifics alone or conspecifics with a host plant. The mating behavior was observed in newly emerged pairs for 9 days in the laboratory. A Y-tube olfactometer was used to evaluate the responses of beetles to odor sources. The paired adults began to mate 2 days after emergence, and they displayed repeated matings that increased in frequency with age. The males were the most active sex in the mating system of C. luridus. The mating sequence in this species was divided into precopulatory, copulatory and postcopulatory phases. In the olfactometer bioassays, the volatiles emitted from males that fed on Duboisia sp. were attractive to conspecific weevils. The evidence from this result indicates that chemical communication in C. luridus is likely mediated by an aggregation pheromone produced by males. Our findings provide new insights into the mating system and chemical ecology of C. luridus and may serve as a foundation for future studies to develop strategies for the management of this curculionid in the field.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), INCT Semioquímicos na Agricultura (FAPESP/CNPq), and Boehringer Ingelheim for the financial support provided for this work. We are also grateful to Marcelo Kauffman Filho and Ricardo Luis Duarte for their help in the collection of the biological materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Aline Cristiane Kamiya, Weliton Dias Silva, Mariana O. Garrigós Leite, Lucila Wadt & José Maurício Simões Bento

  2. Solana Agropecuária Ltda, Arapongas, PR, Brazil

    Paulo Tironi

  3. Laboratório de Ecologia Química e Comportamento de Insetos, ESALQ/USP, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil

    José Maurício Simões Bento

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  1. Aline Cristiane Kamiya
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  2. Weliton Dias Silva
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  3. Mariana O. Garrigós Leite
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  4. Paulo Tironi
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  5. Lucila Wadt
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  6. José Maurício Simões Bento
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Correspondence to José Maurício Simões Bento.

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Kamiya, A.C., Silva, W.D., Leite, M.O.G. et al. Mating Behavior and Evidence for Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromone in Cyrtomon luridus (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae). J Insect Behav 28, 55–66 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-014-9481-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-014-9481-1

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