Behavioral responses of male Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) to mating communication signals from vibration traps in citrus (Sapindales: Rutaceae) trees

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), vectors the bacterium causing citrus greening disease, which has devastated citrus production worldwide wherever it has been introduced. To help monitor and target D. citri populations in commercial groves, thereby facilitating more effective management of citrus greening disease, a prototype device has been developed that mimics D. citri female vibrational communication signals, attracting males to a trap. For this report, effects of the device on male D. citri searching behavior were assessed to consider potential improvements in field applications. Forty-five percent of the males that searched towards the female signal mimic reached the source. In addition, the mean latencies before the initiation of calling and searching responses by males that reached the source were significantly lower than for those that missed, which suggests that trapping efficiency is strongly influenced by variability in male responsiveness to searching cues. Consequently, it is likely that the trapping efficiency of vibration traps could be increased further if they were modified to make use of additional cues strongly attractive to males, such as citrus flush olfactory and visual cues.