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Effect of pheromone concentration on organization of preflight behaviors of the male gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar(L.)

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Abstract

Male gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar L.) in a wind tunnel at 24° respond to decreasing dosages (1 μg to 0.1 pg) of (+)-cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane with a decrease in probability of wing-fanning, an increase in wing-fanning latency, and an increase in the number of behaviors (body jerks, antennal twitches, steps, and wing tremors) preceding fanning. Males initiating any behavior prior to wing-fanning had a 70% probability of wing-fanning and 97% of the males that wing-fanned eventually flew. The sequence of behaviors from quiescence to flight is not organized in a hierarchy, as this concept is used in ethology, nor is it dependent upon the concentration of pheromone. The time-average threshold concentration of pheromone for response of ca. 90% or more quiescent males is ca. 1.9 × 10−17 g/cm3 over < 0.3 min.

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Author notes

  1. T. E. Hagaman

    Present address: Department of Psychology, DePauw University, 46136, Greencastle, Indiana

  2. R. T. Cardé

    Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, Massachusetts

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Pesticide Research Center, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, Michigan

    T. E. Hagaman & R. T. Cardé

Authors
  1. T. E. Hagaman
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  2. R. T. Cardé
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Additional information

Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae.

Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Article No. 10263.

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Hagaman, T.E., Cardé, R.T. Effect of pheromone concentration on organization of preflight behaviors of the male gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar(L.). J Chem Ecol 10, 17–23 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987639

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987639

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