Vibrational duetting mimics to trap and disrupt mating of the devastating Asian citrus psyllid insect pest

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is the primary vector of a bacterium that causes huanglongbing, a devastating disease of citrus in Florida. Efficient trapping of ACP at low population densities is important for timely pest management decisions. To improve trapping efficiency, there has been interest in coopting the vibrational communication/mating system of this insect. ACP males find mates on tree branches by producing vibrational calls that elicit duetting replies from receptive females. The males then search and continue duetting to locate the replies. To interfere with the duetting process, a device was constructed that incorporates a contact microphone to detect vibrational signals, a microcontroller platform with signal detection and background noise discrimination software, and a piezoelectric buzzer to produce mimics of female reply vibrations. The mimics, produced immediately after a call is detected, stimulate the male to search and find the sourc...