title: Relationships of Reproductive Traits With the Phylogeny of the African Noctuid Stem Borers.
abstract: The display of the reproductive behavior in most noctuid Lepidoptera follows a diel periodicity and is limited to a precise period of either the day or the night. These behavioral traits and the sex pheromone chemistry can be species specific and thus might be linked to the phylogeny. The objective of this study was to test the relationship of these reproductive traits with phylogeny. The study was undertaken using eight closely related species of noctuid stem borers, which are easy to rear under artificial conditions, namely,Busseola fusca,B. nairobica,B. sp. nr.segeta,Manga melanodonta,M. sp. nr.nubifera,Pirateolea piscator,Sesamia calamistis, andS. nonagrioides. For each species, the adult emergence period, the mating time, and the oviposition period were estimated, referred as biological traits. The components of the sex pheromones emitted by the females of each species were also analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Among the biological traits measured, only those linked to the oviposition pattern (timing and egg loads per night) were significantly correlated with the phylogeny of these species. For the sex pheromone components, among the 13 components identified in all species, only four, namely, Z9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-TDA), Z11-TDA, E11-TDA, and Z11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-HDA), showed the highest significant correlations with the phylogeny. These results suggest that among the different reproductive traits evaluated, only few are phylogenetically constrained. Their involvement in the reinforcement of ecological speciation in noctuid stem borers is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, Unités Mixtes de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.; Institut Diversité Ecologie et Evolution du Vivant, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.; Noctuid Stem Borers Biodiversity Project, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Paul-André
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Calatayud
authors.affiliation: Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, Unités Mixtes de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.; Institut Diversité Ecologie et Evolution du Vivant, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dupas
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frérot
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Genestier
authors.affiliation: Noctuid Stem Borers Biodiversity Project, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ahuya
authors.affiliation: Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, Unités Mixtes de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.; Institut Diversité Ecologie et Evolution du Vivant, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capdevielle-Dulac
authors.affiliation: Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, Unités Mixtes de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France.; Institut Diversité Ecologie et Evolution du Vivant, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.; Noctuid Stem Borers Biodiversity Project, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Le Ru
keywords: E11-tetradecenyl acetate (E11-TDA); Lepidoptera; Z11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-HDA); Z11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-TDA); Z9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-TDA); adult emergence period; mating time; oviposition period; sex pheromone chemicals