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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2015, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (8): 60-66.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20150808

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Reproductive Behavior of Micromelalopha sieversi (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae)

Fan Lipeng1, Huang Fanquan2, Wang Hongbin1, Li Guohong1, Kong Xiangbo1, Zhang Sufang1, Zhang Zhen1   

  1. 1. Key Lab. of Forest Protection of State Forestry Administration Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, CAF Beijing 100091;
    2. Forestry Bureau of Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province Yuanjiang 413100
  • Received:2014-02-12 Revised:2014-08-12 Online:2015-08-25 Published:2015-09-10

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Abstract:

[Objective] Micromelalopha sieversi (Staudinger) (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) is one of the most serious leaf-eating pests of poplar trees in China and has caused environmental damage and economic losses severely. The sex pheromone is an important means for monitoring and controlling the pest, thus, the study on adult reproductive behavior could provide a reliable basis for the extraction and identification of the sex pheromone and for its practical application. [Method] The emergence, calling, and mating behavior of the moth were observation, and the transfer dynamics of sperms was analyzed during mating process. [Result] Results showed that the female moth had a clear circadian rhythm of calling behavior with two peaks of 4:00 and 21:00, and in light period, there was no calling behavior. The successful mating was a complex process, including flying, crawling and wings flapping when it was gradually the dark, ovipositor and pheromone gland extending, body posture adjusting later. In some cases the 1d old female moth could also complete the process through a brief flying and crawling without releasing sex pheromone. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in calling rate and mating rate among several treatments of different ages. The durations of calling, mating and sperm ejaculating significantly reduced as the age in days increased (P<0.05). The total number of eupyrene sperm bundles, which stored in seminal vesicle and ejaculatory duct of male moth, increased as the age increased until 3rd day, and the ejaculatory amount among different ages had no significant differences.[Conclusion] The sex pheromone of Micromelalopha sieversi plays an important role in contacting and promoting the chemical communication and reproductive behavior. Furthermore, Micromelalopha sieversi takes the differential reproductive behavior strategy dependent on variant physical condition, population size and female-male proportion.

Key words: Micromelalopha sieversi, reproductive behavior, calling rate, mating rate, sperm

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