The role of sound and pheromone in the sexual communication of the raspberry crown borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae): implications for monitoring and management

The raspberry crown borer, Pennisetia marginata (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), is a pest of caneberries in the genus Rubus. Understanding its sexual communication may lead to the development of sound- and/or semiochemical-based monitoring and management tools. Newly-eclosed females wing fan. By testing playback of recorded sounds in pheromone-baited traps, I revealed that wing fanning is not involved in long-range sexual communication. Trap and pheromone lure attributes affected capture of males. Most notably, freshly prepared pheromone lures were significantly more attractive than lures aged at room temperature for 2-10 days. Mass trapping with high-dose (100μg) pheromone lures reduced capture of males in traps baited with low-dose (10μg) pheromone lures by 93% in 2010 and by 75% in 2011. Fifty percent male flight in raspberry occurred between 838 and 892 degree days >10°C from January 1. A trap-catch threshold of 19 moths captured between 652 and 842 degree days consistently indicated egg-infested canes.