1. Stink bug communication with multimodal signals transmitted through air and substrateAndrej Čokl, Alenka Žunič Kosi, Raúl Alberto Laumann, 2019, review article Abstract: This review represents complex mechanisms and processes of multimodal communication in stink bugs. During reproductive behavior the airborne and substrate-borne signals enable mate recognition, mediate directionality of movement, eliminate rivals and motivate partners for copulation. Species specific characteristics prevent hybridization at various levels of mating behavior. Male sex and/or aggregation pheromones as uni- or multicomponent signals attract mates to land on the same plant and there, trigger females to call males by vibratory signals, transmitted through the plant. Communication during courtship runs at short distance with visual, airborne, substrate-borne and contact chemical and mechanical signals. Abdomen vibrations produce the main repertoire of female and male calling, courtship and rival vibratory signals. To increase their informational value, stink bugs tune signal frequency, amplitude and temporal characteristics with mechanical properties of plants. The airborne component of species non-specific and high amplitude signals, produced by body tremulation and wing buzzing enables communication contact between mates standing on mechanically isolated plants. Female vibratory signals increase the amount of male emitted pheromone and the latter keeps female calling. Interaction, synergy and characteristics of visual, contact chemical and vibratory signals, exchanged during courtship remain under-investigated. Female and male competition for access to copulation in imbalanced sex conditions is characterized by duetting with rival song vibratory signals. Different receptors in and on different parts of the body are able to detect with high sensitivity multimodal airborne and substrate-borne communication signals. The relevance of the multimodal communication for the reproductive success of stink bugs is discussed.
Keywords: insects, Pentatomidae, communication, signals, multimodality, transmission medium, environment
Published in DiRROS: 06.08.2024; Views: 47; Downloads: 42
 Full text (846,86 KB)
This document has many files! More... |
2. Stink bug communication and signal detection in a plant environmentAndrej Čokl, Alenka Žunič Kosi, Nataša Stritih Peljhan, Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes, Raúl Alberto Laumann, Miguel Borges, 2021, review article Abstract: Plants influenced the evolution of plant-dwelling stink bugs’ systems underlying communication with chemical and substrate-borne vibratory signals. Plant volatiles provides cues that increase attractiveness or interfere with the probability of finding a mate in the field. Mechanical properties of herbaceous hosts and associated plants alter the frequency, amplitude, and temporal characteristics of stink bug species and sex-specific vibratory signals. The specificity of pheromone odor tuning has evolved through highly specific odorant receptors located within the receptor membrane. The narrow-band low-frequency characteristics of the signals produced by abdomen vibration and the frequency tuning of the highly sensitive subgenual organ vibration receptors match with filtering properties of the plants enabling optimized communication. A range of less sensitive mechanoreceptors, tuned to lower vibration frequencies, detect signals produced by other mechanisms used at less species-specific levels of communication in a plant environment. Whereas the encoding of frequency-intensity and temporal parameters of stink bug vibratory signals is relatively well investigated at low levels of processing in the ventral nerve cord, processing of this information and its integration with other modalities at higher neuronal levels still needs research attention.
Published in DiRROS: 05.08.2024; Views: 74; Downloads: 91
Full text (3,07 MB)
This document has many files! More... |
3. Reproductive biology, mating behavior, and vibratory communication of the brown-winged stink bug, Edessa meditabunda (Fabr.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)Cleonor Cavalcante A. Silva, Raúl Alberto Laumann, Jonatas Barbosa Cavalcante Ferreira, Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes, Miguel Borges, Andrej Čokl, 2012, original scientific article Abstract: We describe different aspects of the reproductive biology, mating behavior, and vibratory communication of the pentatomid Edessa meditabunda (Fabr.). This species shows lower copulation frequency and reproductive potential with longer sexual maturation period compared to other species of pentatomids. Females with multiple mating show increased fecundity when compared with single-mated females and both increased fecundity and reduced longevity when compared with virgin females. Courtship and mating behavior and vibratory signals are typical and similar to what was observed in other species of pentatomids, except that males started the courtship. These results constitute the first paper on biology, behavior, and vibratory communication among species of the subfamily Edessinae.
Keywords: animal ecology, animal communication
Published in DiRROS: 05.08.2024; Views: 103; Downloads: 85
Full text (511,11 KB)
This document has many files! More... |
4. Interference of overlapping insect vibratory communication signalsMiguel Borges, Andrej Čokl, Alenka Žunič Kosi, Meta Virant-Doberlet, Raúl Alberto Laumann, Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes, 2015, original scientific article Abstract: Plants limit the range of insect substrate-borne vibratory communication by their architecture and mechanical properties that change transmitted signal time, amplitude and frequency characteristics. Stinkbugs gain higher signal-to-noise ratio and increase communication distance by emitting narrowband low frequency vibratory signals that are tuned with transmission properties of plants. The objective of the present study was to investigate hitherto overlooked consequences of duetting with mutually overlapped narrowband vibratory signals. The overlapped vibrations of the model stinkbug species Eushistus heros, produced naturally or induced artificially on different plants, have been analysed. They represent female and male strategies to preserve information within a complex masked signal. The brown stinkbugs E. heros communicate with species and gender specific vibratory signals that constitute characteristic duets in the calling, courtship and rivalry phases of mating behaviour. The calling female pulse overlaps the male vibratory response when the latency of the latter is shorter than the duration of the female triggering signal or when the male response does not inhibit the following female pulse. Overlapping of signals induces interference that changes their amplitude pattern to a sequence of regularly repeated pulses in which their duration and the difference between frequencies of overlapped vibrations are related inversely. Interference does not occur in overlapped narrow band female calling pulses and broadband male courtship pulse trains. In a duet with overlapped signals females and males change time parameters and increase the frequency difference between signals by changing the frequency level and frequency modulation pattern of their calls.
Keywords: vibratory communication signals, overlapping
Published in DiRROS: 26.07.2024; Views: 140; Downloads: 277
 Link to full text
This document has many files! More... |
5. Effects of 5-Gy irradiation on fertility and mating behaviour of Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)Alenka Žunič Kosi, Andrej Čokl, Gregor Serša, 2002, original scientific article Abstract: Background. The polyphagous and cosmopolitan species Nezara viridula is one ofthe most important insect pests. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a pest control strategy that involves sterilising males by exposing them to ionising radiation. Sterile males, released into wild population, mate with females, but eggs are not fertilised and the population gradually declines. Exposing insects to radiation during their growth stage might require lower sterilising dose. The aim of our study was to test whether 5-Gy irradiation of5th instar nymphs significantly affects: (1) moulting and further development of the irradiated nymphs, (2) the male's and female's reproduetivesystem and (3) the mating competitiveness of treated males, with special focus on vibrational communication. Methods: The 5th instar nymphs were irradiated with 5 Gy using X ray generator and monitored daily. Results: The observed effects of irradiation were: prolonged moulting increased mortality during development and during the first day of adult life, decreasedmales to females ratio, decreased fecundity, egg production, proportion of fertile eggs and progeny survival. The reaction of a male to stimulation with the model female calling song was tested. The irradiated and non-irradiated males responded to stimulation with emission of the eourtship song (MCrS). Temporal parameters of MCrS emitted by non-irradiated males differed when compared with those of irradiated ones. Conclusions: The 5-Gy irradiation of 5th instar nymphs did not affect mating behaviour. However since the irradiation during growth stage decreased the fertility and fecundity of emerged adults, this technique, in combination with certain othersuppression teehniques, could be a successful control strategy for management of Nezara viridula. On the other hand observed effects on moulting and further development of the irradiated nymphs could decrease the efficiencyand application of this strategy.
Published in DiRROS: 31.01.2024; Views: 327; Downloads: 77
Full text (93,75 KB) |
