Naive mated female cabbage looper moths, Trichoplusia ni Hübner, responded in a flight tunnel to potted potato plants ( Solanum tuberosum ). Percentages of moths attracted to uninjured potato plants, mechanically-damaged potato plants, and potato plants treated with regurgitant from larvae of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say, were similar, indicating no effect of plant ...

The cotton pest, pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders)), is a significant pest in most cotton-growing areas around the world. In southwestern USA and northern Mexico, pink bollworm is the target of the sterile insect technique (SIT), which relies on the mass-release of sterile pink bollworm adults to over-flood the wild population and thereby reduce it over time. Sterile moths rear...

Adults of many insect species often become contaminated with pollen grains when feeding. Identification of plant hosts for M. separata moths could increase our understanding of their geographic origin and the coevolution of M. separata moths and their host plants. However, identifying the diet of noctuid moths using traditional direct observation is limited by their nocturnal and flight habits....

Attraction of adult codling moths, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), to sweet baits has been well documented. However, beneficial effects of sugar feeding on moth fitness have not been demonstrated. Longevity, fecundity, and egg fertility were examined for female/male pairs of moths maintained with the following food regimens: water, sucrose water, honey water, apple juice, apple...

In this study, we determined the host relationship of Agrotis ipsilon moths by identifying pollen species adhering them during their long-distance migration. Pollen carried by A. ipsilon moths was collected from 2012 to 2014 on a small island in the center of the Bohai Strait, which is a seasonal migration pathway of this pest species. Genomic DNA of single pollen grains was amplified by using ...

The obligate mutualism between yuccas and yucca moths is a major model system for the study of coevolving species interactions. Exploration of the processes that have generated current diversity and associations within this mutualism requires robust phylogenies and timelines for both moths and yuccas. Here we establish a molecular clock for the moths based on mtDNA and use it to estimate the ti...

Spatially extended population models predict complex spatiotemporal patterns, such as spiral waves and spatial chaos, as a result of the reaction-diffusion dynamics that arise from trophic interactions. However, examples of such patterns in ecological systems are scarce. We develop a quantitative technique to demonstrate the existence of waves in Central European larch budmoth (Zeiraphera dinia...

1. Moths (Lepidoptera) are the major nocturnal pollinators of flowers. However, their importance and contribution to the provision of pollination ecosystem services may have been under-appreciated. Evidence was identified that moths are important pollinators of a diverse range of plant species in diverse ecosystems across the world. 2. Moth populations are known to be undergoing significant dec...

We investigated the relationship between predator detection threshold and antipredator behaviour in noctuoid moths. Moths with ears sensitive to the echolocation calls of insectivorous bats use avoidance manoeuvres in flight to evade these predators. Earless moths generally fly less than eared species as a primary defence against predation by bats. For eared moths, however, there is interspecif...

In Þeld tests of ßoral chemicals dispensed singly, alfalfa looper moths, Autographa californica (Speyer), were captured in traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde, -myrcene, or benzyl acetate. Cabbage looper moths, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) were also captured in traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde,methyl salicylate, ormethyl-2-methoxybenzoate. In evaluations of binaryblends of those same compounds...