Sexual Recognition and Mating Behavior of the Populus Longicorn Beetle, Batocera lineolata (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Abstract :

We studied the sexual recognition and mating behavior of B. lineolata by video tracking capture system (EthoVision 3.1) and field observation, for laying the foundation of the effective control of Batocera lineolata Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) and enrich the reproductive behavior of the insect. The result showed that, during the encountering, the intersection time of two tracks and net relative movements for female-male group were longer than female-female group or male-male group; while the reaction time was shorter than the latters. A complete mating of B. lineolata included three stages, i.e. Pair-bonding, Mating and Post-copulatory guarding. The average time of Pair-bonding is 2.16 mins, and 10.28 mins, 5.37 mins for Mating and Post-copulatory guarding, respectively. In mating experiments with different sex ratios, the mating number fluctuated regularly, and it was greatly different in mating number for male or female individuals. The virgin female or male, takes more total mating time longer duration for single mating, higher insert genital frequency than un-virgin ones. The mating on the host plant had higher mating rate and longer duration time than on the open ground. The mating behavior in the field test was similar with that in the laboratory experiment


Keyword :

Batocera lineolata, Mating, Sexual recognition, Behavior analysis


Author(s) : Yang, H., Yang, W., Yang, C. P., Yang, M. F., Zhu, T. H., Huang, Q., Wang, B. X.
Downloads : 2066
Published Issue : 2012 Vol. 7 Number 1


2012 Vol. 7 Number 1