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Publication Date: 2001
Publication Name: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Research Interests:
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The adjustment of feeding behavior in response to hunger and satiety contributes to homeostatic regulation in animals. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster feeds on yeasts growing on overripe fruit, providing nutrients required for adult... more
The adjustment of feeding behavior in response to hunger and satiety contributes to homeostatic regulation in animals. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster feeds on yeasts growing on overripe fruit, providing nutrients required for adult survival, reproduction and larval growth. Here, we present data on how the nutritional value of food affects subsequent yeast consumption in Drosophila adult males. After a period of starvation, flies showed intensive yeast consumption. In comparison, flies stopped feeding after having access to a nutritive cornmeal diet. Interestingly, dietary glucose was equally efficient as the complex cornmeal diet. In contrast, flies fed with sucralose, a non-metabolizable sweetener, behaved as if they were starved. The adipokinetic hormone and insulin-like peptides regulate metabolic processes in insects. We did not find any effect of the adipokinetic hormone pathway on this modulation. Instead, the insulin pathway was involved in these changes. Flies lacking...
Publication Date: 2014
Publication Name: Frontiers in physiology
Research Interests: Starvation and Insulin
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Publication Date: 2014
Publication Name: Scientific Reports
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2015
Publication Name: Scientific Reports
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by Paul Becher and Peter Witzgall
Publication Date: 2010
Publication Name: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2014
Publication Name: Scientific Reports
Research Interests:
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Mate recognition and reproductive isolation in the sibling species Spodoptera littoralis and Spodoptera lituramore
by Bill Hansson and Peter Witzgall
ABSTRACT Mate recognition is crucial for reproductive isolation and for maintaining species integrity. Chemosensory-mediated sexual communication with pheromones is an essential component of mate recognition in moths. Confronted with sex... more
ABSTRACT Mate recognition is crucial for reproductive isolation and for maintaining species integrity. Chemosensory-mediated sexual communication with pheromones is an essential component of mate recognition in moths. Confronted with sex pheromone stimuli released from conspecific and closely related heterospecific females, which partially overlap in chemical composition, male moths are under strong selection to recognize compatible mates. Here, we investigated the role of pheromone signals in premating communication in the sibling species Spodoptera littoralis and S. litura (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). Further, we measured the reproductive consequence of conspecific vs. heterospecific matings. Both species use Z9,E11-14:Ac as the major pheromone compound, and the 11-component blend found in pheromone glands of S. littoralis comprises the compounds found in S. litura. Accordingly, S. littoralis and S. litura males readily responded to conspecific and heterospecific calling females in no-choice behavioural tests. In contrast, in a dual-choice test, S. littoralis males choose conspecific calling females, whereas S. litura males did not discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific females. In S. littoralis females, heterospecific matings had a negative fitness effect as compared to conspecific matings. Female longevity, egg-laying and hatching of larvae were significantly reduced by matings with heterospecific males. Reciprocal crossings, between S. litura females and S. littoralis males, were prevented by genital morphology, which is consistent with reduced heterospecific attraction of S. littoralis males in a dual-choice assay. On the other hand, matings between S. littoralis females and S. litura males, under a no-choice situation, show that interspecific matings occur in zones of geographical overlap and corroborate the idea that mate quality, in these closely related species, is a continuous and not a categorical trait.
Publication Date: 2014
Publication Name: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
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Potential of a blend of E8,E10-120H and E8,E10-12Ac for mating disruption of codling moth, Cydia pomonella L. (Lep., Tortricidae)more
by C. Rikard Unelius and Peter Witzgall
Publication Date: 1996
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Entomology
Research Interests: Zoology, Horticulture, Pest Management, Chemical Ecology, Tree Fruit, and 13 morePheromones, Agricultural Entomology, Insect Mating Behavior, Integrated Pest Management, Applied, Apples, Biopesticides, Applied Entomology, Insect Chemical Ecology, Horticultural Entomology, Mating Disruption, Codlng Moth, and Cydia pomonella
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Pheromone communication channels in tortricid moths: lower specificity of alcohol vs. acetate geometric isomer blendsmore
by C. Rikard Unelius and Peter Witzgall
Publication Date: 2010
Publication Name: Bulletin of Entomological Research
Research Interests:
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Behavioural effects of minor sex pheromone components in Brazilian apple leafroller Bonagota cranaodes (Lep., Tortricidae)more
by Evaldo Vilela and Peter Witzgall
Publication Date: 2003
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Entomology
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2000
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Love makes smell blind: mating suppresses pheromone attraction in Drosophila females via Or65a olfactory neuronsmore
by Peter Witzgall and Sébastien Lebreton
Publication Date: 2014
Publication Name: Scientific Reports
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2012
Publication Name: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Research Interests:
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Identification of a four-component sex pheromone of the female oriental fruit moth,Grapholitha molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)more
by Peter Witzgall and Evaldo Vilela
Publication Date: 1979
Publication Name: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2004
Publication Name: Journal of Applied Entomology
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2001
Publication Name: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2009
Publication Name: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 1996
Publication Name: Chemoecology
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2008
Publication Name: Annual Review of Entomology
Research Interests:
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Publication Date: 2005
Publication Name: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
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Associations between yeasts and insect herbivores are widespread, and these inter-kingdom interactions play a crucial role in yeast and insect ecology and evolution. We report a survey of insect attraction to live yeast from a community... more
Associations between yeasts and insect herbivores are widespread, and these inter-kingdom interactions play a crucial role in yeast and insect ecology and evolution. We report a survey of insect attraction to live yeast from a community ecology perspective. In the summer of 2013 we screened live yeast cultures of Metschnikowia pulcherrima, M. andauensis, M. hawaiiensis, M. lopburiensis, and Cryptococcus tephrensis in an organic apple orchard. More than 3000 arthropods from 3 classes, 15 orders, and 93 species were trapped; ca. 79% of the trapped specimens were dipterans, of which 43% were hoverflies (Syrphidae), followed by Sarcophagidae, Phoridae, Lauxaniidae, Cecidomyidae, Drosophilidae, and Chironomidae. Traps baited with M. pulcherrima, M. andauensis, and C. tephrensis captured typically 2.4 times more specimens than control traps; traps baited with M. pulcherrima, M. hawaiiensis, M. andauensis, M. lopburiensis, and C. tephrensis were more species-rich than unbaited control traps. We conclude that traps baited with live yeasts of the genera Metschnikowia and Cryprococcus are effective attractants and therefore of potential value for pest control. Yeast-based monitoring or attract-and-kill techniques could target pest insects or enhance the assemblage of beneficial insects. Manipulation of insect behavior through live yeast cultures should be further explored for the development of novel plant protection techniques.