Behavioral Function of the Components and the Blend of the Sex Pheromone of the Cabbage Looper, Trichoplusia ni

Individual male cabbage looper moths, Trichoplusia ni, were tested in a sustained-flight tunnel to the sex pheromone, a 93:7 blend of (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate and dodecyl acetate. Two experimental procedures were used to investigate the interaction of the two components in the upwind flight response of males. In the first test, chemical components were selectively removed from the moths' flight path at two distances from the source, corresponding to areas of the tunnel in which the blend was or was not active in increasing the number of upwind flights. In the second test, males were offered a choice between plumes, in their normal flight path, which contained different components. Results of both tests showed that males were unresponsive to dodecyl acetate alone at all phases of the flight response, responses to the blend were dependent on the two components being mixed in the same plume, and response to the blend altered the males subsequent flight response to Z7-12:Ac alon

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of the Oriental Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in a Golf Course Environment

The mating season of the oriental beetle, Exomala orientalis (Waterhouse), in 1994 and 1995 at Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, NY (40° 45′ N, 73° 28′ W) began in the middle of June, peaked in the 1st wk of July, and ended in the middle of August. There were differences in the emergence schedule among fairways as well as local differences between roughs and fairway. Both sexes were most active around sunset on shorter-cut turf (i.e., fairways, greens, and tees, versus roughs), and the few individuals seen during the daylight hours were mostly males. These males were generally found perched on vegetation at the border of the fairway. Feeding was not observed, except on flowers by females devoid of mature eggs. This study confirms our observations on the pattern of activity in an earlier study conducted with the use of synthetic pheromone traps. It also explains the difficulty encountered by earlier workers in finding adults of this insect in the field. Implications of the above findings on the management of the oriental beetle are discusse

Monitoring Grape Berry Moth (Paralobesia viteana: Lepidoptera) in Commercial Vineyards using a Host Plant Based Synthetic Lure

For some Lepidopteran pests, such as the grape berry moth Paralobesia viteana (Clemens), poor correlation between males captured in traps baited with sex pheromone and oviposition activities of female moths has called into question the value of pheromone-based monitoring for these species. As an alternative, we compared the capture of female and male grape berry moth in panel traps baited with synthetic host volatiles with captures of males in pheromone-baited wing traps over two growing seasons in two blocks of grapes in a commercial vineyard in central New York. Lures formulated in hexane to release either 7-component or 13-component host volatile blends captured significantly more male and female grape berry moth on panel traps compared with the numbers captured on panel traps with hexane-only lures. For both sexes over both years, the same or more moths were captured in panel traps along the forest edge compared with the vineyard edge early in the season but this pattern was reversed by mid-season. Male moths captured in pheromone-baited wing traps also displayed this temporal shift in location. There was a significant positive correlation between captured males and females on panel traps although not between females captured on panel traps and males captured in pheromone-baited traps for both years suggesting pheromone traps do not accurately reflect either female or male activity. Male moths captured in pheromone traps indicated a large peak early in each season corresponding to first flight followed by lower and variable numbers that did not clearly indicate second and third flights. Panel trap data, combining males and females, indicated three distinct flights, with some overlap between the second and third flights. Peak numbers of moths captured on panel traps matched well with predictions of a temperature-based phenology model, especially in 2008. Although effective, panel traps baited with synthetic host lures were time consuming to deploy and maintain and captured relatively few moths making them impractical, in the current design, for commercial purpose

Ammonium Carbonate Is More Attractive Than Apple and Hawthorn Fruit Volatile Lures to Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Washington State

The apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), is an introduced, quarantine pest of apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen) in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the eastern United States where the fly is native, fruit volatiles have been reported to be more attractive than ammonia compounds to R. pomonella. However, the opposite may be true in the western United States. Here, we determined whether newly identified western apple and western hawthorn fruit volatiles are more attractive than ammonium carbonate (AC) to R. pomonella in apple, black hawthorn, and ornamental hawthorn trees in western Washington State. In all three host trees, sticky red sphere or yellow panel traps baited with AC generally caught more flies than traps baited with lures containing the four newly developed fruit blends (modified eastern apple, western apple, western ornamental hawthorn, and western black hawthorn) or two older blends (eastern apple and eastern downy hawthorn). Fruit volatiles also displayed more variation among trapping studies conducted at different sites, in different host trees, and across years than AC. The results imply that traps baited with AC represent the best approach to monitoring R. pomonella in Washington Stat

Visual perception system and method for a humanoid robot

A robotic system includes a humanoid robot with robotic joints each moveable using an actuator(s), and a distributed controller for controlling the movement of each of the robotic joints. The controller includes a visual perception module (VPM) for visually identifying and tracking an object in the field of view of the robot under threshold lighting conditions. The VPM includes optical devices for collecting an image of the object, a positional extraction device, and a host machine having an algorithm for processing the image and positional information. The algorithm visually identifies and tracks the object, and automatically adapts an exposure time of the optical devices to prevent feature data loss of the image under the threshold lighting conditions. A method of identifying and tracking the object includes collecting the image, extracting positional information of the object, and automatically adapting the exposure time to thereby prevent feature data loss of the image

Single mutation to a sex pheromone receptor provides adaptive specificity between closely related moth species

Sex pheromone communication, acting as a prezygotic barrier to mating, is believed to have contributed to the speciation of moths and butterflies in the order Lepidoptera. Five decades after the discovery of the first moth sex pheromone, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pheromone communication between closely related species. Although Asian and European corn borers (ACB and ECB) can be interbred in the laboratory, they are behaviorally isolated from mating naturally by their responses to subtly different sex pheromone isomers, (E)-12- and (Z)-12-tetradecenyl acetate and (E)-11- and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (ACB: E12, Z12; ECB; E11, Z11). Male moth olfactory systems respond specifically to the pheromone blend produced by their conspecific females. In vitro, ECB(Z) odorant receptor 3 (OR3), a sex pheromone receptor expressed in male antennae, responds strongly to E11 but also generally to the Z11, E12, and Z12 pheromones. In contrast, we show that ACB OR3, a gene that has been subjected to positive selection (ω = 2.9), responds preferentially to the ACB E12 and Z12 pheromones. In Ostrinia species the amino acid residue corresponding to position 148 in transmembrane domain 3 of OR3 is alanine (A), except for ACB OR3 that has a threonine (T) in this position. Mutation of this residue from A to T alters the pheromone recognition pattern by selectively reducing the E11 response ∼14-fold. These results suggest that discrete mutations that narrow the specificity of more broadly responsive sex pheromone receptors may provide a mechanism that contributes to speciation

Sex Pheromone Responses of the Oriental Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

The synthetic female sex pheromone of the oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis Waterhouse, was evaluated in the field and in a sustained-flight tunnel. In a 2-wk period, > 150,000 beetles were captured on three golf course fairways in Connecticut. Contrary to earlier reports that these beetles are most active during the warm, sunny portions of the day, we observed that peak activity occurs around sunset. Ten micrograms of either (Z)-7-tetradecen-2-one or an 89/11 (Z/E) blend on a rubber septum was found to be the minimum concentration with which no significant decrease in catch was observed in the field. There was no discrimination between Z and the blend at 1 μg and higher concentrations, but the E-isomer alone trapped significantly fewer beetles than either Z alone or the blend. These results are consistent with the flight tunnel data. The effects of temperature and light intensity on the mating behavior of A. orientalis also are discusse

Comparing Peripheral Olfactory Coding with Host Preference in the Rhagoletis Species Complex

Recent studies have shown that flies from sympatric populations of Rhagoletis pomonella infesting hawthorn, apple, and flowering dogwood fruit can distinguish among unique volatile blends identified from each host. Analysis of peripheral chemoreception in Rhagoletis flies suggests that changes in receptor specificity and/or receptor neuron sensitivity could impact olfactory preference among the host populations and their hybrids. In an attempt to validate these claims, we have combined flight tunnel analyses and single sensillum electrophysiology in F2 and backcross hybrids displaying a variety of behavioral phenotypes. Results show that differences in peripheral chemoreception among second-generation adults do not provide a direct correlation between peripheral coding and olfactory behavior. We conclude that either the plasticity of the central nervous system in Rhagoletis can compensate for significant alterations in peripheral coding or that peripheral changes present subtle effects on behavior not easily detectable with current techniques. The results of this study imply that the basis for olfactory behavior in Rhagoletis has a complicated genetic and neuronal basis, even for populations with a recent divergence in preferenc

Spatiotemporal structure of intracranial electric fields induced by transcranial electric stimulation in humans and nonhuman primates

Transcranial electric stimulation (TES) is an emerging technique, developed to non-invasively modulate brain function. However, the spatiotemporal distribution of the intracranial electric fields induced by TES remains poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear how much current actually reaches the brain, and how it distributes across the brain. Lack of this basic information precludes a firm mechanistic understanding of TES effects. In this study we directly measure the spatial and temporal characteristics of the electric field generated by TES using stereotactic EEG (s-EEG) electrode arrays implanted in cebus monkeys and surgical epilepsy patients. We found a small frequency dependent decrease (10%) in magnitudes of TES induced potentials and negligible phase shifts over space. Electric field strengths were strongest in superficial brain regions with maximum values of about 0.5 mV/mm. Our results provide crucial information of the underlying biophysics in TES applications in humans and the optimization and design of TES stimulation protocols. In addition, our findings have broad implications concerning electric field propagation in non-invasive recording techniques such as EEG/MEG