Vibrational communication of Philaenus spumarius and insights for vibrational pest control

Bio-assays were conducted to investigate the mating behavior and associated vibrational signals of the Xylella fastidiosa vector, Philaenus spumarius. After characterization of vibrations involved in pair formation, studies were conducted to assess whether female receptivity to mating is correlated to ovarian development. It was observed that females emitted mating signals from the end of the summer onward, and that signaling activity and responsiveness to mating were correlated with ovarian development. In addition, to evaluate whether a vibrational stimulus could disrupt mating, pairs were treated with a continuous broad-band noise with a frequency range of 150-1200 Hz. Although both females and males emitted mating signals during the treatment, the noise could disrupt the pair formation process, likely by preventing mate finding. Further research on larger scale should be conducted to develop future control mating disruption techniques, which should be applied at the end of the summer, when both sexes are sexually mature.IT; PPT; sabina.avosani@unitn.i