No bad vibes: The disruptive effect of vibrations on the winged and apterous morphs of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae

While searching for physical control methods to disrupt insect pest as alternative to chemical control, previous experiments investigated the effect of non-specific substrate-borne vibration on the behaviour of apterous (non-winged) aphids on vibrating plants. A repellent effect, characterized by aphids leaving the plant, was observed. While apterous aphids can move from plant to plant by walking, the mobility of the winged morph is comparatively far greater, making it difficult to prevent them from colonizing crops and initiating infestations. In this experiment, we observed and compared differences in behaviour and fecundity between the winged and apterous morphs of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, when exposed to substrate-borne white noise vibrations. Female adults of each morph were introduced on a pepper plant in groups of 20 and subjected to vibrations for 48h. The abundance and location of the adults and their juveniles were observed after 24h and 48h. Furthermore, the reproductive success of each morph was measured for 2 days after the experiment. Preliminary results show that some adults and juveniles exposed to vibrations leave the plant when exposed to vibrations, the effect being greater for the winged morph. In addition, both aphid morphs produce less juveniles when exposed to vibrations than non-exposed mothers. Thus, non-specific substrate-borne vibration could potentially help reduce infestations initiated by winged M. persicae by inducing the departure of adults and reducing the reproductive success of those that remain on the plant.