The sense of smell is critical for most vital behaviors in insects. Due to the very strong impact of the olfactory sense on insect behaviors, olfactory-based control strategies have been developed to mitigate insect pest damage on agricultural and horticultural crops. This is especially true for the codling moth, Cydia pomonella, wherein pheromonal-based mating disruption has been developed by exploiting the strong and specific attraction of male to female moths through detection of olfactory pheromone molecules released by females. However, further olfactory research is needed on female moth behaviors, as it is the females that lay eggs that develop into the next generation. Recent efforts have been directed at study of olfactory receptor genes that are expressed in female codling moth antennae and abdomen tip. These organs mediate olfactory detection and downstream behaviors such as attraction and egg-laying. A subset of olfactory receptors was determined to be female-specific, in that they are expressed in female but not male antennae, and are likely to be involved in mediating female-specific behaviors. One of these olfactory receptors has been functionally characterized and has been shown to respond to fruit odorants. This receptor is present in both the antennae and abdomen tip and may be involved in mediating olfactory attraction and egg-laying behaviors. Current efforts are focused on evaluating the effects of odorants detected by this olfactory receptor in influencing female codling moth behavior, which may contribute towards development of improved olfactory-based control strategies for the female codling moth.
