Flight capacity and behavior of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in response to kairomonal and pheromonal stimuli

Authors: Abshire, Jennifer; HARMAN, RACHEL - Orise Fellow; BRUCE, ALEXANDER - University Of Tennessee; GILLETTE, SAMANTHA - Kansas State University; MAILLE, JACQUELINE - Kansas State University; RANABHAT, SABITA - Kansas State University; Scully, Erin; ZHU, KUN YAN - Kansas State University; Gerken, Alison; Morrison, William - Rob

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/2/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Many stored product insects use flight to disperse throughout and between food facilities to colonize and infest new food sources and find mates. Although flight behavior is important to understand for effective pest management, little is known about the flight capacity of most stored product insects or the environmental and physiological factors that influence flight behavior. Additionally, most prior studies in stored product insects focus only on factors that influence flight initiation and have not assessed other factors, such as those that affect flight capacity, and there is no data about the flight capacity and little on flight behavior of stored product moths. In this study, we used an insect treadmill to assess flight capacity of Mediterranean flour moth in the presence and absence of food and pheromone odors. We found that adult Mediterranean flour moths flew a mean of 24–34 km (15-21 miles) in a day, and the distance flown per flight bout increased from 91 m when no odors were present to 207 m in the presence of pheromones but decreased to 41 m when food was nearby. Mediterranean flour moth flew significantly slower with pheromone and food cues present, suggesting they may be actively searching for food or mates. Overall, this novel information is useful for understanding how odor cues influence flight activity and dispersal within facilities as well as in the landscape (between facilities).

Technical Abstract: Flight behavior is an important component to understand in the context of pest management. However, because of their small size, little is known about the flight capacity of most stored product insects, and when flight has been assessed, it usually consists of propensity for initiating flight. In particular, despite a priori expectations of importance to flight for moths, there is no data about the flight capacity and little on flight behavior of Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). As a result, the objective of the current study was to 1) characterize the baseline flight capacity of E. kuehniella and 2) determine how flight capacity is affected by the presence of kairomonal, pheromonal or no stimuli. We found adult E. kuehniella flew a mean of 24–34 km in a 24 h period, and the distance flown per bout increased from 91 to 207 m in the presence of pheromones but decreased to 41 m when food was nearby compared to a negative control. The total number of flight bouts was 1.6-fold higher in the presence of pheromone compared to the negative control, but E. kuehniella flew significantly slower with pheromone and food cues present, suggesting they may be exhibiting an optimal foraging strategy. Our data on flight capacity results in qualitatively and quantitatively different conclusions about flight than if only flight initiation is considered. Overall, this novel information is useful for understanding spread within facilities as well as in the landscape (between facilities), and follow-up ecological modeling.