Out with the new, in with the old: How the use of a decoy Asian citrus psyllid mating call impacts honeybee population density

Abstract

Asian citrus psyllids carry a bacterium that causes citrus greening disease. In order to combat this disease, researchers developed a machine that broadcasts a decoy mating call to disrupt mating of Asian citrus psyllids. The noise this machine makes in order to disrupt the psyllids has not been tested on an important pollinator, the honeybee. The goal of this study was to test how a decoy mating call of the Asian citrus psyllid affected the population density of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the area immediately around where the call was being broadcasted. There was no statistically significant difference in the population density of bees when the decoy mating call was playing versus the population density of bees when there was no call playing. The data support the hypothesis that the decoy mating call noise does not have a significant impact on honeybees (does not drive away honeybees nor lure honeybees). Further testing is required to see if this finding holds true at different volumes and other settings.