Scientific and technological developments in mating disruption of scale insects

Mating disruption (MD) is a species-specific and environmentally friendly pest management tactic based on the release of synthetic sex pheromones aiming to interrupt the mate-finding communication and prevent mating in the target pest. The present work aims to provide an overview of the current scientific and technical knowledge on mating disruption of scale pests (Hemiptera: Coccoidea). Biparental scales are suitable targets for mating disruption (technically, MD is not suitable for parthenogenetic scales), as the females have a limited spreading ability, and adult males are short lived and have a narrow window of time for mate searching. In this perspective, delayed mating also plays an important role by reducing female attractiveness and population growth potential. The mechanisms involved in MD of scales are most likely assigned to ‘competitive disruption’ rather than ‘noncompetitive’ mechanisms, although no specific studies addressed this issue. Mating disruption has been commercially developed and increasingly applied against the vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and the California red scale Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) to a lesser extent. Critical factors affecting MD effectiveness are the pest density and effective disruption late in the season. Mating disruption applied to scale pests is effective in small plots and compatible with biological control and integrated management programs. In conclusion, MD has a high potential for management of scale pests, providing that key factors such as technological advances in pheromone synthesis and pheromone formulations, elucidation of disruption mechanisms, and simplification of the registration process are addressed.