Mate location and recognition in Glenea cantor (Fabr.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae): roles of host plant health, female sex pheromone, and vision.

Abstract

Glenea cantor (Fabricius) is an important pest of kapok trees [Bombax ceiba L.=Gossampinus malabaricus (DC.) Merr.] in southern China and Vietnam, and its adults are diurnally active. We carried out both field and laboratory experiments to examine the mechanisms that brought G. cantor sexes together from a long distance and facilitated mate location and recognition in a close range. Long-range sex pheromones are not involved in mate location. Mutual attraction of sexes to weakened kapok trees where adult feeding, mating, and oviposition occur plays the key role in mate location from a long distance. In a close range, vision and a female sex pheromone that operates over a short distance (3-3.5 cm) and/or by contact are major cues males use for mate location and recognition. Males seem to use combined chemical and visual cues to achieve mating. Male antennae, particularly the terminal five segments, are critical for males to detect and recognize females. Removal of male palpi has no significant effect on mate location and recognition by males.