ABSTRACT
Sex pheromones, which control mate-finding and copulation behaviors, are one of the most prevalent chemical signals in communications of insects. Because sex pheromones generally elicit drastic behavioral and/or physiological responses in conspecific mates even in minute amounts, the pheromone-mediated mate-finding systems utilized by pest insects have long been recognized to be of potential value in their management. Mating disruption is a strategy to suppress the population growth of pests by mimicking their sex pheromones and interfering with mate-finding and copulation. Studies on mating disruption have been carried out since the 1960s, but many mysteries and obstacles still remain to be solved. Particularly in non-lepidopteran pests, commercially available products for mating disruption are currently very scarce. In this chapter, the concepts of mating disruption are summarized in brief, and subsequently some case studies including moths as well as beetles and mealybugs are reviewed. Based on these previous studies, this chapter seeks to deduce some keys for the further development, application, and promotion of mating disruption in pest management programs.
