Advances in understanding and exploiting insect vibrational communication

Vibrational communication is an ubiquitous mode of communication in insects, often mediated by bending waves in herbaceous plant tissues they inhabit. Several new theoretical advances in the past years have been facilitated by the use of sensitive recording equipment (particularly laser vibrometers), computerized data acquisition and analysis, and callibrated transducers for playback. These tools have brought insight into a hitherto largely hidden world of information exchange by vibrational signals which are characterized by low amplitude, rapid amplitude modulation and frequency tuning with the substrate. Here, playback is commonly used to provide additional insight by manipulating insect behaviour, and knowledge has progressed enough to open possibilities of artificial behavioural manipulation in order to improve pest control. This idea is illustrated by two conceptually different examples of bioacoustic approach to behavioural manipulation of insect pests, currently in development: mating disruption of the American grapevine leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus Ball) using noise, and attraction of brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys Stål) using conspecific signals for mass trapping. They are among new developments that hold promise to substitute chemical methods of pest control with a more environment-friendly approach, at least in certain settings.