Sugary poo could be used to lure destructive plant pests to their doom

A new study shows that spotted lanternfly communicate through their excretions. There is little known about how this insect locates each other for reproduction or feeding. The research states that the insects' honeydew emits chemicals that attract other lanterns. These effects are sex specific, which may be the first case of such signals in insects.

The first step to managing any pest is to understand their biology and behavior. We hope to find a vulnerability in the spotted lanternfly that we can use to develop pest management tools to reduce its population and spread.

The smells are attractive.

Although these insects are known to leave their excretions throughout the understory, they have a peculiar habit of coming together in large numbers on only a few tree trunks. There are other tree trunks that have not been touched. The surface of the tree can become white and frothy, as well as emitting a smell of ferment, when a lot of lanternfly produce so much honeydew.

In order to study the signals sent by these excretions, Cooperband and her colleagues collected honeydew samples from male and female lanternfly in the field. The researchers gave lanternfly a choice between areas with or without different types of honeydew.

Both males and females were attracted to the same honeydew. This behavior is consistent with what these insects do in the field.

The team decided which components produced the strongest signals after analyzing them. Specific sex-attractant profiles were found in five molecule that were tested. One molecule called 2-heptanone attracted males, but not females, while another molecule called 2-nonanone attracted females, but not males.

Control of pests.

Understanding how to control this pest will be the next step. There are a lot of questions, such as whether there are seasonal variations in this behavior, and whether there are interactions with microbes that produce the necessary chemicals.

The behavior and communication of spotted lanternfly is complex and only the beginning. Cooperband said that they are interested in the role of the substrate in their communication system. Future research might look at how they locate each other when they gather and find mates.

More information: Volatiles from male honeydew excretions attract conspecific male spotted lanternflies, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae, Frontiers in Insect Science (2022). DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2022.982965 , www.frontiersin.org/articles/1 … nsc.2022.982965/full