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Title: Stable isotope markers differentiate between mass-reared and wild Lepidoptera in sterile insect technique programs

Author
item HOOD-NOWOTNY, REBECCA - Austrian Institute Of Technology (AIT)
item HARARI, ALLY - Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center
item SETH, RAKESH - University Of Delhi
item WEE, SUK - University Of Kebangsaan
item CONLONG, DES - South African Sugarcane Research Institute
item SUCKLING, DAVID - Horticultural Research - New Zealand
item LEBDI-GRISSA, KAOUTHAR - Institut National Agronomique De Tunisie (INAT)
item SIMMONS, GREGORY - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item Carpenter, James

Submitted to: Florida Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/3/2015
Publication Date: 6/1/2016
Citation: Hood-Nowotny, R., Harari, A., Seth, R., Wee, S.L., Conlong, D., Suckling, D.M., Lebdi-Grissa, K., Simmons, G., Carpenter, J.E. 2016. Stable isotope markers differentiate between mass-reared and wild Lepidoptera in sterile insect technique programs. Florida Entomologist. 99(spl):166-176. doi:10.1653/024.099.spl20.

Interpretive Summary: In this comprehensive study a number of Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) target moth species were identified and the feasibility was assessed of using isotope signatures to distinguish mass reared from wild moth species as a marking tool. Large natural differences in the isotopic signatures of commercially available sugars render them novel marking tools for mass-reared insects. Sugar beet, a C3 plant, has an isotopic signature that is different from sugar cane, a C4 plant, allowing mass-reared insects to be easily distinguished with an analytical accuracy +/- 0.2‰ from wild insects, with a high degree of certainty. It was shown that this method could be extended using a multiple isotope approach. Intrinsic isotope marking of mass-reared moths proved to be a powerful means of distinguishing wild from mass-reared populations, based on isotopic differences between the wild and mass-reared diets, which where possible had been manipulated to contain the isotopically divergent sugar type to the wild-type host plant species. This intrinsic labelling using stable isotopes could be extremely useful in the assessment of the quality of mass-reared moths, as it is a marker that does not affect the insect in any detrimental manner and does not increase its chances of being preyed upon. It could also be very useful at critical points in a SIT program where there may be doubt in the presence or absence of an internal dye such as Calco red, or an external dye such as a fluorescent powder.

Technical Abstract: In this comprehensive study a number of Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) target moth species were identified and the feasibility was assessed of using isotope signatures to distinguish mass reared from wild moth species as a marking tool. Large natural differences in the isotopic signatures of commercially available sugars render them novel marking tools for mass-reared insects. Sugar beet, a C3 plant, has an isotopic signature of around -27‰ relative to Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB; the international carbon isotope standard) and sugar cane, a C4 plant, has an isotopic signature of around -11‰ relative to VPDB, allowing mass-reared insects to be easily distinguished with an analytical accuracy +/- 0.2‰ from wild insects, with a high degree of certainty. It was shown that method could be extended using a multiple isotope approach. Intrinsic isotope marking of mass-reared moths proved to be a powerful means of distinguishing wild from mass-reared populations, based on isotopic differences between the wild and mass-reared diets, which where possible had been manipulated to contain the isotopically divergent sugar type to the wild-type host plant species. This intrinsic labelling using stable isotopes could be extremely useful in the assessment of the quality of mass-reared moths, as it is a marker that does not affect the insect in any detrimental manner and does not increase its chances of being preyed upon. It could also be very useful at critical points in the program where there may be doubt in the presence or absence of an internal dye such as Calco red, or an external dye such as a fluorescent powder.