Vibrational Communication in the Cherry Leaf Roller Caterpillar Caloptilia serotinella (Gracillarioidea: Gracillariidae)

The cherry leaf roller (Caloptilia serotinella) produces three distinct types of substrate-borne signals—scraping, plucking, and vibrating—during interac-tions between conspecifics. Signals were recorded using a piezoelectric sen-sor, and behavioral experiments tested the hypothesis that signaling functions in territorial disputes over costly leaf shelters. Trials involving the introduc-tion of a conspecific to a resident’s leaf shelter demonstrated a significant increase in the amount of scraping by the resident; there was no significant difference in plucking or vibrating. In control trials, general mechanical dis-turbances such as opening and probing the shelter typically did not elicit sig-naling. Although both residents and intruders were observed to produce all three signal types, residents most often initiated signaling, and scraped signifi-cantly more than intruders. Implications for understanding the diversity of vi-brational communication in larval Lepidoptera, particularly shelter-building species, are discussed