An area-wide integrated tsetse eradication project was initiated in Zanzibar in 1994 by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the governments of Tanzania and Zanzibar, to eradicate Glossina austeni Newstead from Unguja Island (Zanzibar) using the sterile insect technique. Suppression of the tsetse population on Unguja was initiated in 1988 by applying residual pyrethroids as a pour-on formulation to livestock and by the deployment of insecticide impregnated screens in some of the forested areas. This was followed by sequential releases of gamma-sterilized male flies by light aircraft. The flies, packaged in carton release containers, were dispersed twice a week along specific flight lines separated by a distance of 1–2 km. More than 8.5 million sterile male flies were released by air from August 1994 to December 1997. A sterile to indigenous male ratio of >50:1 was obtained in mid-1995 and it increased to >100:1 by the end of 1995. As a consequence the proportion of sampled young females (1–2 ovulations), with an egg in utero in embryonic arrest or an uterus empty as a result of expulsion of a dead embryo, increased from 70% in the last quarter of 1995. In addition, the age structure of the female population became significantly distorted in favor of old flies (≥4 ovulations) by the end of 1995. The apparent density of the indigenous fly population declined rapidly in the last quarter of 1995, followed by a population crash in the beginning of 1996. The last trapped indigenous male and female flies were found in weeks 32 and 36, 1996, respectively. Time for 6 fly generations elapsed between the last catch of an indigenous fly and the end of the sterile male releases in December 1997.

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-economic-entomology/volume-93/issue-1/0022-0493-93.1.123/Glossina-austeni-Diptera--Glossinidae-Eradicated-on-the-Island-of/10.1603/0022-0493-93.1.123.pdf

Glossina austeni (Diptera: Glossinidae) eradicated on the island of Unguja, Zanzibar, using the sterile insect technique.

We performed a detailed karyotype analysis in the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), the key pest of pome fruit in the temperate regions of the world. The codling moth karyotype consisted of 2n = 56 chromosomes of a holokinetic type. The chromosomes were classified into 5 groups according to their sizes: extra large (3 pairs), large (3 pairs), medium (15 pairs), small (5 pairs), and dot-like (2 pairs). In pachytene nuclei of both sexes, a curious NOR (nucleolar organizer region) bivalent was observed. It carried 2 nucleoli, each associated with one end of the bivalent. FISH with an 18S ribosomal DNA probe confirmed the presence of 2 clusters of rRNA genes at the opposite ends of the bivalent. In accordance with this finding, 2 homologous NOR chromosomes were identified in mitotic metaphase, each showing hybridization signals at both ends. In highly polyploid somatic nuclei, females showed a large heterochromatin body, the so-called sex chromatin or W chromatin. The heterochroma...

Codling moth cytogenetics: karyotype, chromosomal location of rDNA, and molecular differentiation of sex chromosomes.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is currently being used for the control of many agricultural pests, including some lepidopteran species. The SIT relies on the rearing and release of large numbers of genetically sterile insects into a wild population. The holokinetic chromosomes of Lepidoptera respond differently to radiation than do species where there is a localized centromere. This difference has enabled a variation of the SIT to be developed for Lepidoptera where a substerilizing dose of radiation is given to the insects before their release with the result that a certain level of sterility is inherited by the F1 offspring. The development of genetic sexing strains for fruit flies, enabling the release of males only, has resulted in enormous economic benefits in the mass rearing and has increased the efficiency of the field operations severalfold. This article outlines Mendelian approaches that are currently available to separate large numbers of males and females efficiently for different lepidopteran species and describes their difficulties and constraints. Successful transgenesis in several lepidopteran species opens up new possibilities to develop genetic sexing strains. The proposal to develop genetic sexing strains described in this article takes advantage of the fact that in Lepidoptera, the female is the heterogametic sex, with most species having a WZ sex chromosome pair, whereas the males are ZZ. This means that if a conditional lethal gene can be inserted into the W chromosome, then all females should die after the application of the restrictive condition. The assumptions made to accommodate this model are discussed, and the advantages to be gained for control programs are elucidated.

/pdf/development-of-genetic-sexing-strains-in-lepidoptera-from-2qgasccht3.pdf

Development of genetic sexing strains in Lepidoptera: from traditional to transgenic approaches.

An integrated programme of pheromone-mediated mating disruption using Isomate-C®, post-harvest removal of fruit, and trapping overwintering larvae with cardboard tree bands, was used to control codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in four commercial ‘organic’ apple orchards in Cawston, British Columbia during 1989–1992. One application of 1000 dispensers ha−1 on May 1 delivered estimated seasonal totals of 16.6, 16.5 and 19.9 g of E,E-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol [=codlemone] ha−1 in 1990, 1991 and 1992, respectively, at median rates of 8.4, 8.3, and 13.3 mg · ha−1· h−1 during dusk flight periods of first brood and 5.3, 4.7 and 4.6 mg · ha−1· h−1 in second brood, respectively. Over this 3-year period damage from codling moth at harvest ranged from 0.08 to 2.4%, and averaged <0.7% in these four organic orchards, while damage in five conventional orchards receiving sprays of azinphosmethyl ranged from 0.02 to 1.85%, and averaged 0.5%. Damage in an experimental orchard that was banded only, ranged from 43.5 to 56.7%, and averaged 48.9%. Between 1990 and 1992 cumulative male catches in Pherocon 1-CP wing traps baited with 10 mg of codlemone declined by 52% and densities of overwintering codling moth larvae declined an average of 49.5% in all organic orchards. Overwintering populations in the banded experimental orchard showed an increase of 57.7% during this study period. We conclude that an integrated programme of pheromone-mediated mating disruption, post-harvest fruit removal and tree banding, controls codling moth effectively enough to make organic apple production viable in British Columbia.

Control of codling moth in organically-managed apple orchards by combining pheromone-mediated mating disruption, post-harvest fruit removal and tree banding

The effects of pre-exposing male codling moths, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), to their pheromone ( E , E )-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol (codlemone), in static and moving air, under laboratory and field conditions, on subsequent antennal sensitivity, behavioural responsiveness, and attraction to codlemone were investigated. In flight tunnel experiments, the percentage of moths wing fanning and taking flight were mostly unaffected, but upwind flight to, and contact with, pheromone sources known to elicit responses of both were shown to depend on the intensity and duration of previous exposure to codlemone and recovery time between exposure and assessment. Ten to 30-min preexposures to codlemone in static air ( ≈ 35 µ g l − 1 ) not only caused a 99% reduction in attraction, but also significantly reduced electroantennogram response to codlemone. Recovery of full antennal sensitivity to codlemone took more than 1 h, but recovery of attraction took over 4 h, suggesting that habituation is also partially involved in reduced behavioural responsiveness following pre-exposure. Seventy-five min exposures to codlemone in moving air (5 ‐10 cm s − 1 ) at rates of 0.9, 4.5, and 18 µ g h − 1 from Celcon fibres caused 75, 86, and 99% disruption, respectively. However, 30 ‐34-h exposure of caged moths to air moving through an orchard treated with 1000 Isomate-C® dispensers ha − 1 releasing approximately 20 µ g h − 1 per dispenser during tests, had no impact on moth response in flight-tunnel assays 30 min after removal from the orchard. In this treated orchard, catches of freeflying moths in pheromone-baited traps were completely inhibited. If observed mechanisms such as long-lasting antennal adaptation or habituation of the central nervous system contribute to the disruption of pheromone communication among codling moths under field conditions, it seems unlikely that they occur following exposure to the average atmospheric concentrations of codlemone. For these effects to be important, codling moths may require close contact with pheromone sources for extended periods, or repeated close encounters.

Reduced antennal sensitivity, behavioural response, and attraction of male codling moths, Cydia pomonella, to their pheromone (E,E)‐8,10‐dodecadien‐1‐ol following various pre‐exposure regimes

M. G. T. Gardiner

Papers

Sterile-insect release program to control the codling moth Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae) in British Columbia, Canada.