MATING POTENTIAL OF FERAL-REARED AND LABORATORY-REARED EOREUMA-LOFTINI (LEPIDOPTERA, PYRALIDAE)

When Mexican rice borers, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), were provided a surp lus of mates, an average of 91.0% and 88.3% of laboratory-reared Mexic an rice borer males and females, respectively, mated on the night foll owing eclosion. Males mated as many as five times each, but only 4.3% of females mated as many as two times and none mated more than twice. Of the 250 mated feral females captured with sweep nets or light traps , none contained more than one spermatophore. Captures of feral male M exican rice borers in pheromone traps in sugarcane fields were initiat ed at approximately the same time with baits of synthetic lures and vi rgin females. Fewer males were caught in traps baited with mated femal es than ones baited with either pheromone lures or virgin females (0.1 males per trap per night versus 8.9 and 4.9 males per trap per night, respectively).