Abstract
Efficient visual pest control is still in its infant stages. Although being non-invasive, environmentally friendly and potentially cost effective, we still have not cracked the way to efficiently use it against epidemic vector-carrying and crop-infesting insects. Chironomid ovipostion can provide insights to key factors in visual pest control by investigating the behavior under confined and unconfined conditions. Under confined condition, due to limited amount of oviposition sites and increase of egg density in highly preferred locations, females oviposit in less suitable sites. Intensity and polarization of light reflected from the oviposition sites were found to be important as guiding cues for the females. However, in the open outdoor where oviposition sites are unlimited, oviposition followed the polarization signal only, and the intensity was ignored as a cue. By applying this approach to reduce chironomid population in a natural reservoir we show that it may be used to divert ovipositing females to egg traps reflecting highly and horizontally polarized light. The potential of using color, intensity and polarization as a basis for building oviposition traps and applying it to pest control in the future, is discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 65-70 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Fauna Norvegica |
Volume | 31 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:1. Pronotum with 3 pairs of setae (1, 1a, 2) ............... .................................................... Callientomon Yin 1980 – Pronotum with 2 pairs of setae (1, 2) ........................... 2 2. Sensillum t-1 on foretarsus filiform ............................. 3 – Sensillum t-1 on foretarsus baculiform ........................ 4 3. Maxillary gland large, Sensillum t-3 on foretarsus leaf-like ...............................Verrucoentomon Rusek 1974 – Maxillary gland small, sensillum t-3 on foretarsus globular ........................................ Nienna Szeptycki 1988 4. Sensillum a’ on foretarsus near to t-1 ..................... ..................................................... Nosekiella Rusek 1974 – Sensillum a’ on foretarsus distal to t-1 .................... ....................................... Nanshanentulus Bu et Yin 2007 Acknowledgements. We express our cordial gratitude to Mr. Rong-Dong XIE for his instruction in identification and Mr. Yi-Ming YANG for his help in mounting the specimens. We also sincerely thank Dr. Yun-Xia LUAN and Yan GAO for their help in the collection. This study is also supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No: 30570210, 30630010).
Keywords
- Chironomus transvaalensis
- Insect control
- Polarization vision
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology