The navel orangeworm, Amyleois transitella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a key pest of almonds and pistachios in California. Larvae directly feed on nuts, reducing quality and yield, and adults can introduce fungi that produce aflatoxins. The development of sterile insect technique (SIT) is currently being explored as a management tool for this pest. Large quantities of A. transitella are mass-reared, irradiated, and shipped to California from a USDA APHIS facility in Phoenix, AZ. Preliminary field releases of sterile A. transitella from this facility resulted in poor recovery of males in pheromone traps, raising concerns that mass-reared male A. transitella may not be responding to pheromone from virgin females. In this study, a wind tunnel was used to evaluate the response of both irradiated and non-irradiated mass-reared A. transitella males to crude pheromone extract from females, and their performance was compared to two strains of locally reared non-irradiated A. transitella. While initial responses associated with pheromone detection where similar between mass-reared and locally reared moths, a lower proportion of the mass-reared moths ultimately made contact with the pheromone source. Surprisingly, the addition of irradiation did not further decrease their performance. While mass-reared moths respond to pheromone, their ability to locate and make contact with the pheromone source appears to be impeded. The underlying mechanism remains unclear, but is likely related to damage incurred during the mass-rearing and shipping process.

中文翻译：

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评估质量和辐照肚脐橙虫，Amyelois运输菌（鳞翅目：Pyralidae）对粗雌信息素提取物的响应。

脐橙蠕虫Amyleoistranstransella（鳞翅目：Pyralidae）是加利福尼亚州杏仁和开心果的主要害虫。幼虫直接以坚果为食，从而降低了质量和产量，成年人可以引入产生黄曲霉毒素的真菌。目前正在探索无菌昆虫技术（SIT）的发展，作为该害虫的管理工具。大批量A. transitella是大规模饲养，照射，在亚利桑那州凤凰城一USDA APHIS工厂运到加州。从该设施中初步释放的无菌A.transistella野外菌导致信息素陷阱中雄性的回收率很低，引起了人们对雄性A.transentella的大量繁殖的担忧可能对未成年女性的信息素没有反应。在这项研究中，使用风洞来评估辐照和未辐照的大量繁殖的拟南芥雄性虫对雌性粗制信息素提取物的反应，并将其性能与两株本地饲养的未辐照甲虫进行比较。转运菌。虽然与信息素检测相关的初始响应在大量繁殖的飞蛾和本地繁殖的飞蛾之间相似，但较低比例的大量繁殖的飞蛾最终与信息素源接触。令人惊讶的是，添加辐射并没有进一步降低其性能。虽然飞蛾对信息素有反应，但它们定位和与信息素来源接触的能力似乎受到了限制。潜在的机制尚不清楚，但可能与大规模饲养和运输过程中造成的损害有关。