The role of visual organs in the locomotor behavior of Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Authors

  • Peng Liang Forewarning and Management of Agricultural and Forestry Pests, Hubei Engineering Technology Center, Institute of Insect, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, 434025, China
  • Zhangzhang He Forewarning and Management of Agricultural and Forestry Pests, Hubei Engineering Technology Center, Institute of Insect, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, 434025, China
  • Xuan Yang Forewarning and Management of Agricultural and Forestry Pests, Hubei Engineering Technology Center, Institute of Insect, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, 434025, China
  • LianYou Gui Forewarning and Management of Agricultural and Forestry Pests, Hubei Engineering Technology Center, Institute of Insect, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, 434025, China

Abstract

Chinese citrus fly, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein; Diptera: Tephritidae), which attacks citrus fruits in China is one of the most important international quarantine pests. Understanding the function of visual organs is the basis of trapping and prevention for management of pests such as B. minax. In this study, take-off ability and crawling experiments were conducted using 5 groups of B. minax all with different visual blinding treatments (blind ocelli, blind left compound eye, blind right compound eye, blind compound eyes, blind ocelli and compound eyes) and a corresponding control that was not blinded. We found that both the left and right compound eyes played a critical role in the vertical and horizontal crawling behavior of B. minax, while the ocelli did not. However, the perception of ambient light by ocelli or either compound eye had a significant influence on take-off of B. minax. Elucidating the monocular and compound eye functions of B. minax will help us to develop better visual traps for this important pest of citrus.

 

Resumen

La mosca china de los cítricos, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein; Diptera: Tephritidae), que ataca las frutas de cítricos en China es una de las plagas cuarentenarias internacionales más importantes. El comprender la función de los órganos visuales es la base del trampeo y la prevención para el manejo de plagas como B. minax. En este estudio, se realizaron pruebas de capacidad de despegue y experimentos de rastreo utilizando 5 grupos de B. minax, todos con diferentes tratamientos de cegamiento visual (ocelli ciego, ojo compuesto izquierdo ciego, ojo compuesto derecho ciego, ojos compuestos ciegos, ocelli ciego y ojos compuestos) y un control correspondiente que no fue cegado. Descubrimos que tanto el ojo compuesto izquierdo como el derecho desempeñaron un papel fundamental en el comportamiento de rastreo vertical y horizontal de B. minax, mientras que el ocelli no lo hizo. Sin embargo, la percepción de la luz ambiental por parte del ocelli o del ojo compuesto tuvo una influencia significativa en el despegue de B. minax. El esclarecer las funciones oculares monoculares y compuestas de B. minax nos ayudará a desarrollar mejores trampas visuales para esta importante plaga de los cítricos.

Key Words: take-off ability; crawling experiments; ocelli; compound eyes; visual masking; visual blinding

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Published

2023-12-27

Issue

Vol. 106, No. 4 (December 2023)

Section

Research Papers

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