• 2026 (Vol.40)
  • 1990 (Vol.4)
  • 1989 (Vol.3)
  • 1988 (Vol.2)
  • 1987 (Vol.1)

Volume 40 #1

Contents

  1. Neuronal Activity in the Temporal Cortex of the Unanesthetized Cat Synchronized with Respiration
  2. Behavioral Responses of the European Corn Borer to Ultrasonic Signals in Laboratory and Field Conditions
  3. Temporal Thresholds of Moving Sound Source Localization in Patients with Chronic Sensoryneural Hearing Loss and Central Auditory Processing Disorders
  4. Apperception Factors in Speech Signal Detection under Background of Spatially Distributed Multi-Speaker Noise
  5. The Effect of Glycine on Olfactory Sensitivity in Wistar Rats Mediated by an Excitatory Glycine Receptor
  6. Two-Channel Mechanism for Encoding Orientations in the Visual System

Behavioral Responses of the European Corn Borer to Ultrasonic Signals in Laboratory and Field Conditions

© 2026 I.V. Grushevaya, A.V. Schenikova, M.I. Zhukovskaya, O.G. Selitskaya, A.A. Miltsen, A.N. Frolov

All-Russian Research Institute for Plant Protection, Pushkin, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
I.M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry RAS, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

Received 28 Nov 2025

The corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis has a four-component vision system, well-developed olfaction, and a primitive auditory organ that is sensitive to ultrasound. In a wind tunnel setting, the influence of ultrasound mimicking bat signals was tested on responses to two attractive stimuli: ultraviolet light and a semiochemical consisting of components from corn volatiles. Field experiments assessed the impact of ultrasound on the capture of moths in light traps and traps with semiochemicals. The data obtained indicate that ultrasound has a greater effect on responses to semiochemicals than to ultraviolet light.

Key words: ultrasound, ultraviolet, semiochemicals, Ostrinia nubilalis, wind tunnel, traps

DOI: 10.7868/S3034593626010021

Cite: Grushevaya I. V., Schenikova A. V., Zhukovskaya M. I., Selitskaya O. G., Miltsen A. A., Frolov A. N. Povedencheskie reaktsii kukuruznogo motylka na ultrazvukovye signaly v laboratornykh i polevykh usloviyakh [Behavioral responses of the european corn borer to ultrasonic signals in laboratory and field conditions]. Sensornye sistemy [Sensory systems]. 2026. V. 40(1). P. 19–31 (in Russian). doi: 10.7868/S3034593626010021

References:

  • Grushevaya I.V., Kononchuk A.G., Malysh S.M., Miltsyn A.A., Frolov A.N. Svetodiodnaya lovushka dlya monitoringa kukuruznogo motyl’ka Ostrinia nubilalis: rezul’taty ispytaniya v Krasnodarskom kraye [LED trap for monitoring the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis: results of testing in the Krasnodar Territory]. Vestnik zashchity rastenii [Plant Protection News]. 2019. V. 4(102). P. 49–54 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.31993/2308-6459-2019-4-102-49-54
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Severina I.Yu., Novikova E.S. Svetovoe antropogennoe zagryaznenie: deystvie na nasekomykh [Light pollution: impact on insects]. Biosfera [Biosphere]. 2022. V. 14(2). P. 126–136 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.24855/biosfera.v14i2.669
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Selitskaya O.G., Shchenikova A.V., Berim M.N., Grushevaya I.V., Trepashko L.I., Frolov A.N. Northern populations of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis: analysis of electrical responses of antenna to pheromone mixtures of races and interracial hybrids. J. Evol. Biochem. Physiol. 2018. V. 54(5). P. 408–412 https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093018050095
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Selitskaya O.G., Shchenikova A.V., Grushevaya I.V., Malysh Yu.M., Berim M.N., Frolov A.N., Trepashko L.I. Interpopulation variability of responses of males of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to pheromone compositions: analysis of electroantennograms. J. Evol. Biochem. Physiol. 2017. V. 53(4). P. 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093017040135
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Selitskaya O.G., Schenikova A.V., Miltsyn A.A., Grushevaya I.V., Kononchuk A.G., Frolov A.N., Reaction of imagos of the adzuki bean borer Ostrinia scapulalis to light stimuli in a wind tunnel. Neurosci. Behav. Physiol. 2023. V.53(9). P. 1635–1640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01558-7
  • Lapshin D.N. Ekholokatsionnaya sistema babochek [Echolocation system of moths]. M.: Nauka, 2005. 206 p. (in Russian)
  • Miltsyn A.A., Grushevaya I.V., Frolov A.N. Ustroystvo dlya upravleniya povedeniyem cheshuyekrylykh nasekomykh posredstvom ul’trazvukovykh impul’sov, imitiruyushchikh okhotnich’i kriki letuchikh myshey [A device for controlling the behavior of lepidopteran insects by means of ultrasonic pulses imitating the hunting cries of bats]. Patent RF 239340 u1. 2025.
  • Novikova E.S., Zhukovskaya M.I. Bright light induced freezing behavior in American cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Sensornye Systemy. 2017. V. 31 № 1. P. 44–50. (In Russian)
  • Frolov A.N., Miltsyn A.A., Zakharova Y.A., Grushevaya I.V., Kononchuk A.G., Tokarev Yu.S. Svetoferomonnaya lovushka dlya letayushchikh nasekomykh [Light-pheromone trap for flying insects]. Patent RF 201632 u1. 2020.
  • Frolov A.N., Grushevaya I.V., Kononchuk A.G. Sovremennyye tipy lovushek dlya monitoringa cheshuyekrylykh na primere kukuruznogo motyl’ka [Modern types of traps for monitoring Lepidoptera on the example of the European corn borer]. St. Petersburg: Naukoyemkiye tekhnologii. 2021. 120 p. (in Russian).
  • Frolov A.N. Control of harmful insect behavior: light, chemical signals and their combined action. Entomological Review 2022. V. 101(3). P. 453–502. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873822060033
  • Frolov A.N., Zakharova Yu.A., Malysh S.M. Skvoz’ sumerki k svetu: novyy vzglyad na variativnost’ povedencheskikh reaktsiy yablonnoy plodozhorki [Through the twilight to the light: a new look at the variability of behavioral reactions of the codling moth]. Plant Protection News [Vestnik zashchity rasteniy]. 2024. V. 107(2). P. 40–74 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.31993/2308-6459-2024-107-2-16612
  • Frolov A.N., Trishkin D.S. Faktory, vliyayushchie na kontsentratsiyu babochek kukuruznogo motyl’ka Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera, Pyraustidae) perezimovavshego pokoleniya v mestakh sparivaniya v Krasnodarskom krae [Factors influencing the concentration of the overwintered generation of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera, Pyraustidae) moths in mating sites in the Krasnodar Territory]. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. 1992. V. 71(10). P. 144–148 (in Russian).
  • Frolov A.N., Trishkin D.S., Dyatlova K.D., Chumakov M.A. Prostranstvennoye raspredeleniye imago kukuruznogo motyl’ka Ostrinia nubilalis v zone razvitiya dvukh pokoleniy [Spatial distribution of Ostrinia nubilalis moths in the zone of development of two generations]. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. 1996. V. 75(11). P. 1644–1652 (in Russian).
  • Shchenikova A.V., Zhukovskaya M.I., Selitskaya O.G., Grushevaya I.V., Frolov A.N. Sensitivity of the olfactory system in the sibling species of the genus Ostrinia: preadaptation to development of a new host plant? Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology. 2020. V. 56. № 7. P. 723. (in Russian) https://doi.org/10.31857/S004445292007253x
  • Agee H.R. Acoustic sensitivity of the European corn borer moth, Ostrinia nubilalis. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 1969. V. 62. № 6. P. 1364–1367.
  • Arnold S.E.J., Stevenson P.C., Belmain S.R. Shades of yellow: interactive effects of visual and odour cues in a pest beetle. PeerJ. 2016. V. 4: e2219. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2219
  • Belušič G., Šporar K., Meglič A. Extreme polarisation sensitivity in the retina of the corn borer moth Ostrinia. J. Exp. Biol. 2017. V. 220. №. 11. Р. 2047–2056. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.153718
  • Capinera J.L. European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). university of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, EDIS. 2000. uRL: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/field.htm (accessed 17.01.26)
  • Chen Q.x., Chen Y.W., Li W.L. ultrastructural comparison of the compound eyes of the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) under light/dark adaptation. Arthropod Struct. Dev. 2019. V. 53. P. 100901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2019.100901
  • Cook S.M., Khan Z.R., Pickett J.A. The use of push-pull strategies in integrated pest management. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 2007. V. 52. № 1. P. 375–400. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091407
  • Frolov A., Grushevaya I., Kononchuk A. LEDs and semiochemicals vs. Sex pheromones: tests of the European corn borer attractivity in the Krasnodar territory. Plant Protection News (Vestnik Zashchity Rasteniy). 2020. V. 103 № 4. P. 269–273. https://doi.org/10.31993/2308-6459-2020-103-4-13989
  • Frolov A.N., Zakharova Y.A. Highly Improved Captures of the Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella, using Bimodal Traps. Insects. 2025. V. 16. № 9. 881. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16090881
  • Fullard J.H., Muma K.E., Dawson J.W. Quantifying an anti-bat flight response by eared moths. Can. J. Zool. 2003. V. 81. № 3. P. 395–399. https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-019
  • Greenfield M.D., Weber T. Evolution of ultrasonic signalling in wax moths: discrimination of ultrasonic mating calls from bat echolocation signals and the exploitation of an antipredator receiver bias by sexual advertisement. Ethol. Ecol. Evol. 2000. V. 12. № 3. P. 259–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2000.9522800
  • Jung J.W., Kim J.H., Pfeiffer R., Ahn Y-J., Page T.L., Kwon H.W. Neuromodulation of olfactory sensitivity in the peripheral olfactory organs of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana. PLoS One. 2013. V. 8: e81361. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0081361
  • Hallberg E., Hansson B.S., Steinbrecht R.A. Morphological characteristics of antennal sensilla in the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Tissue Cell. 1994. V. 26. № 4. P. 489–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-8166(94)90002-7
  • Hügel T., Goerlitz H.R. Light might suppress both types of sound‐evoked antipredator flight in moths. Ecol. Evol. 2020. V. 10. № 23. P. 13134–13142. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6904
  • Lassance J.-M. The European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis: exotic pest and model system to study pheromone evolution and speciation. In: Pheromone communication in moths: evolution, behavior, and application. Allison J.D., Cardé R.T. (eds.). univ. California Press, Oakland, CA, 2016. P. 233–244. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520964433
  • Lassance J.-M., Groot A.T., Liénard M.A., Antony B., Borgwardt C., Andersson F., Hedenström E., Heckel D.G., Löfstedt C. Allelic variation in a fatty-acyl reductase gene causes divergence in moth sex pheromones. Nature. 2010. V. 466. № 7305. P. 486–489. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09058
  • Marion-Poll F.C., Guillaumin D., Masson C. Sexual dimorphism of tarsal receptors and sensory equipment of the ovipositor in the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. Cell. Tissue Res. 1992. V. 267. № 3. P. 507–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00319373
  • Mason C.E., Rice M.E., DiFonzo C.D., Porter R.P., Sappington T.W., Hunt T.E., Hellmich R.L., Bauté T.S., Andow D.A., Buntin G.D., Dively G.P., Hutchison W.D., Nansen C., Knodel J.J., Calvin D.D., Cullen E.M., Cronholm G.B., Huang F., Buschman L.L., Van Duyn J.W., Showers W.B., Witkowski J.F., Higgins R.A., Onstad D.W. European corn borer: ecology, management, association with other corn pests. N. Cent. Reg. Ext. Publ. No. NCR. 2018. 327.
  • Minet J., Surlykke A. Auditory and sound producing organs. In Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies. Ed. Kristensen N.P. Berlin: De Gruyter. 2003. V. 2. P. 289–323. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110893724.289
  • Miyatake T., Yokoi T., Fuchikawa T., Korehisa N., Kamura T., Nanba K., Ryouji S., Kamioka N., Hironaka M., Osada M., Hariyama T., Sasaki R., Shinoda K. Monitoring and detecting the cigarette beetle (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) using ultraviolet (LED) direct and reflected lights and/or pheromone traps in a laboratory and a storehouse. J. Econ. Entomol. 2016. V. 109. № 6. P. 2551–2560. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tow225
  • Mrosovsky N. Masking: history, definitions, and measurement. Chronobiol. Int. 1999. V. 16. № 4. P. 415–429. https://doi.org/10.3109/07420529908998717
  • Nakano R., Ihara F., Mishiro K., Toyama, M., Toda S. High duty cycle pulses suppress orientation flights of crambid moths. J. Insect. Physiol. 2015. V. 83. P. 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.11.004
  • Nakano R., Ishikawa Y., Tatsuki S., Surlykke A., Skals N., Takanashi T. ultrasonic courtship song in the Asian corn borer moth, Ostrinia furnacalis. Naturwissenschaften. 2006. V. 93. P. 292–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0100-7
  • Nieri R., Anfora G., Mazzoni, V., Stacconi M.M.R. Semiochemicals, semiophysicals and their integration for the development of innovative multi-modal systems for agricultural pests’ monitoring and control. Entomol. Gen. 2022. V. 42. P. 167–183. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2021/1236
  • Pophof B. Pheromone-binding proteins contribute to the activation of olfactory receptor neurons in the silkmoths Antheraea polyphemus and Bombyx mori. Chemical Senses. 2004. V. 29. № 2. P. 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjh012
  • Sappington T.W. First-flight adult European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) distribution in roadside vegetation relative to cropping patterns and corn phenology. Environ. Entomol. 2005. V. 34. № 6. P. 1541–1548. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225x-34.6.1541
  • Sappington T.W. Migratory flight of insect pests within a year-round distribution: European corn borer as a case study. J. Integr. Agric. 2018. V. 17. № 7. P. 1485–1505. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(18)61969-0
  • Skals N., Anderson P., Kanneworff M., Löfstedt C., Surlykke A. Her odours make him deaf: crossmodal modulation of olfaction and hearing in a male moth. J. Exp. Biol. 2005. V. 208. № 4. P. 595–601. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01400
  • Showers W.B., Berry E.C., Kaster L.V. Management of 2nd-generation European corn borer by controlling moths outside the cornfield. J. Econ. Entomol. 1980. V. 73. P. 88–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/73.1.88
  • Takanashi T., Nakano R., Surlykke A., Tatsuta H., Tabata J., Ishikawa Y., Skals N. Variation in courtship ultrasounds of three Ostrinia moths with different sex pheromones. PLoS ONE. 2010. V. 5. № 10. e13144. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013144
  • Ter Hofstede H.M., Ratcliffe J.M. Evolutionary escalation: the bat–moth arms race. J. Exp. Biol. 2016. V. 219. № 11. P. 1589–1602. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.086686
  • Tóth M., Szarukán I., Nagy A., Ábri T., Katona V., Kőrösi S., Nagy T., Szarvas Á., Koczor S. An improved female-targeted semiochemical lure for the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. Acta Phytopathol. Entomol. Hung. 2016. V. 51. № 2. P. 247–254. https://doi.org/10.1556/038.51.2016.2.9
  • Tóth M., Szarukán I., Nagy A., Furlan L., Benvegnù I., Rak Cizej M., Ábri T., Kéki T., Körösi S., Pogonyi A., Toshova T., Velchev D., Atanasova D., Kurtulus A., Kaydan B.M., Signori A. European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn., Lepidoptera: Crambidae): comparing the performance of a new bisexual lure with that of synthetic sex pheromone in five countries. Pest Man.Sci. 2017. V. 73. № 12. P. 2504–2508. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4645
  • Yack J.E., Raven B.H., Leveillee M.B., Naranjo M. What does an insect hear? Reassessing the role of hearing in predator avoidance with insights from vertebrate prey. Integr. Comp. Biol. 2020. V. 60. № 5. P. 1036–1057. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa097
  • Zha Y.-P., Chen Q., Lei C. ultrasonic hearing in moths. Ann. Soc. Èntomol. Fr. 2009. V. 45. P. 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2009.10697598
  • Zhukovskaya M.I. Selective regulation of sensitivity to odours of different behavioural significance in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Physiol. Entomol. 2008. V. 33. № 2. P. 162–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3032.2008.00615.x
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Frolov A.N. Alternative evolutionary strategies and tactics used by polyphagous insect to inhabit agricultural environment: Ostrinia nubialis as a case. Front. Ecol. Evol. 2022. V. 10. P. 1007532. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1007532
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Grushevaya I.V., Miltsen A.A., Selitskaya O.G., Shchenikova A.V., Frolov A.N., Tóth M. To attract a moth: Wind tunnel and field testing of plant odor and light stimuli and their combination for Ostrinia nubilalis. Acta Phytopathol. Entomol. Hung. 2024. V. 59. № 1. P. 108–120. https://doi.org/10.1556/038.2024.00197
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Polyanovsky A.D. Biogenic amines in insect antennae. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 2017. V. 11. № 45. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2017.00045
  • Zhukovskaya M.I., Selitskaya O.G., Shchenikova A.V., Grushevaya I.V., Malysh Y.M., Berim M.N., Frolov A.N., Trepashko L.I. Interpopulation variation in the response of male European corn borers Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) to pheromone blends: an EAG study. J. Evol. Biochem. Physiol. 2017. V. 53. № 4. P. 346–348. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093017040135