A method for rapidly identifying the pupal sex of Parapoynx crisonalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Author of the article:CHEN Qi1, 2 XIA Xi-Ju1 ZHU Jie1, 2 MA Li1, 2 HUANG Guo-Hua1, 2**
Author's Workplace：1. College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; 2. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Key Words：Parapoynx crisonalis (Walker), pupae, sex-identification, morphological character
Abstract： [Objectives] To develop a rapid and accurate method of sexing the pupae of Parapoynx crisonalis (Walker). [Methods] Pupal sex was identified based on the ventral morphological characters of the 8th and 9th abdominal segments. [Results] In males, the 8th abdominal segment was smooth without cracks, and the 9th had a short lengthways crack in the middle with two distinct semi-circular strumae. In females, the 8th abdominal segment had a central crack with flat sides and no humps, connected to the 7th and the 9th segments. Based on the above morphological characters the pupal sex of P. crisonalis could be determined with 100％accuracy. [Conclusion] The method is efficient for use in the field and has the potential to vastly improve determining the sex ratio and predicting population trends in P. crisonalis.