Proboscis extension response of adult Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to dry sugars
1995
Lopez, J.D. Jr | Lingren, P.D. | Bull, D.L.
Dry sugars were evaluated for their potential as feeding stimulants for the adult corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). The current study is part of an intensive effort to use adult feeding stimulants or attractants in programs to manage populations of H. zea on crops or on an areawide basis. Sucrose, fructose, glucose, and various other commercial sugarcane products (brown, powdered, and granulated sugars) along with raw sugar crystals were evaluated for their ability to elicit proboscis extension, a response essential for feeding, from laboratory-reared males and females and wild males captured in sex pheromone traps. We found that the particle size of sucrose was important in eliciting proboscis extension, and that ground sucrose and fructose were more stimulating than glucose. The most stimulating sugarcane product was powdered sugar and the response to it was similar to that found with ground sucrose and fructose. Laboratory-reared males and females were more responsive to small particles of sucrose, fructose, and powdered sugar than wild males captured in traps baited with sex pheromone. These results raise concerns about the use of laboratory-reared moths for assessing field adult feeding behavior. Although the low response of wild males to dry sugars raises some questions about the potential of these materials for use as feeding stimulants in management programs, more work is needed to gain a better understanding of the sensory mechanisms involved in the proboscis extension response to dry sugar particles and the conditions under which these particles elicit a feeding response.
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