Escape behavior induced by substrate-borne vibrations in larvae of the sap beetle, Phenolia(Lasiodites)picta (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

Abstract

We demonstrate that vibrations carried in a food substrate induced escape behavior in the larvae of the sap beetle pest, Phenolia Lasiodite picta MacLeay Coleoptera: Nitidulidae, which infests Japanese apricot fruits. Accelerations of continuous vibrations from 8 to 32 m/s2 at a frequency of 120 Hz within 30 min induced escape behavior in 60% of larvae. Pulsed vibrations of 1-s duration at intervals from 1 to 29 s induced escape behavior in 40-50% of larvae at 120 Hz and 8 or 16 m/s2. Our findings suggest that the application of vibrations to a food substrate has a potential for removing larvae from the food by inducing escape behavior.