Some aspects of the sexual behaviour of the Lepidoptera Pyralidae infesting stored-products

Research on moth sexual behaviour has focused primarily on female pheromones and male behavioural responses to them. Although several researches on moth sex pheromones have demonstrated that the complete sequence of courtship behaviour also involves male pheromones and other types of communication, relatively little work has been done on the connection between pheromones and extrusible organs or with sound production. Many insects have airborne sound receptors, which function primarily in intraspecific communication, whilst in others hearing serves to warn a potential threat from a predator. Certain pyralid moths infesting stored food, such as the GalleriinaeAchroia grisella F.,Galleria mellonella L., andCorcyra cephalonica (Staint.), and the PhycitinaeEphestia cautella (Walker),Ephestia kuebniella Zeller andPlodia interpunctella (Hübner) have acquired the additional ability to generate sounds by wing-fanning for intraspecific communication and pair forming. The courtship of these Lepidoptera Pyralidae has been examined and several studies have been made on the male orientation to the pheromone produced by the calling famale and also on the behaviour of the male after the female has been located. The paper gives details on the role of ultrasound production in the courtship behaviour and discusses the role of other signals in pair forming.