Lesser wax moth

Lesser wax moths are known or suspected to inhabit most of Africa (including Madagascar), Australia, Europe (especially some more remote regions, such as Greece) and North America, as well as parts of the Neotropics (such as Colombia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad), the Bengal region, Japan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the Marquesas Islands and Tahiti in French Polynesia. Climate Lesser wax moths are found everywhere that honey bees are present, but they are more successful in warmer, tropical areas than in colder climates. Although they cannot live in freezing temperatures for an extended period, they are more successful in lower temperatures than the related greater wax moth. ==Food resources==

Larvae diet Feeding occurs only during the larval life stage. Larvae feed on weak bee colonies. Therefore, the amount of food that the larvae can eat depends on the amount of material that the bee colony produced, as well as the number of moth generations that have persisted on the same comb since the initial infestation began. Larvae move through the bee comb and spin silk tunnels. They cover the silk with their frass. Tunneling through honeycombs not only provides food, but also protects the larvae from the defending worker bees. The larvae prefer to eat honey bee larvae, pupae, and pollen, but will also feed on honey. Unusual foods that larvae can feed on are dried vegetable remains, dried fruits (especially apples and raisins), horn shavings (an organic fertilizer), cork, and even refined sugar. Sometimes greater wax moths can be found in the same comb as lesser wax moths. In these cases, the greater wax moths will compete with the lesser wax moths for the best feeding regions of the comb. In general, the greater wax moth is victorious and the lesser wax larvae are forced to feed on the hive floor. ==Parental care==

Oviposition Females deposit their eggs in crevices in or near bee hives so that a food source will be close to the emerging larvae. When a female has found an acceptable spot, she extends her body into the crevice and then lays her eggs. A female lays on average 250-300 eggs in her lifetime. ==Life history==

Egg The eggs are similar to those of greater wax moths. They are spherical and creamy white in color. Eggs hatch in about five to eight days but warmer temperatures shorten the hatching time. Males tend to be smaller than females. Adults live for about a week and most of their activity, including female oviposition and mating, occurs at night. Males can be seen in their mating position anywhere between six and ten hours in a single night. During the day, the adults hide in foliage close to bee hives. File:Achroia grisella caterpillars, kleine wasmot rupsen.jpg|Larvae File:Achroia grisella cocoons, kleine wasmot cocons.jpg|Pupa File:Achroia grisella female2.jpg|Adult female ==Enemies==

Predators In order to attract mates, male lesser wax moths stay in a stationary position and emit a high-frequency sound. Bats, such as Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, can hear this sound. Thus, both the male's high-frequency calling and its stationary position leave it vulnerable to attacks by bats. Even though the bats do not exist in some of the areas where moths are currently found, the lesser wax moth has retained its evolutionary mode of defense from its native land. Defense The bat calling sound is a long and slowly repeating signal. If males hear the call of an approaching bat or a similar sound, they will stop their mate calling. The males will remain silent for several milliseconds to more than a minute. More sexually attractive males, those with higher single pulse pair rates and amplitudes, experience a higher risk of predation because they resume mate calling sooner than less attractive males. This may occur because the attractive males are better equipped to escape from bats, thus decreasing the apparently high risk. Another theory is that risk taking could be a sexually selected trait. Females can decipher between the moth calling and the bat calling sound. During mate calling, females fan their wings. However, when they hear the bat's sound, they stop fanning their wings. In order to avoid being captured by bats, the moths fly erratically, fall to the ground, or fly away from the source of the sound. ==Mating==

Mate searching behavior In the lesser wax moth species, the males engage in signaling behavior while the females engage in searching roles. Pheromones Lesser wax male moths emit a sex pheromone that is made up of two components: n-undecanal and cis-11-n-octadecenal. As temperature increases, a lesser wax moth male's pulse rate increases and the female's acceptance threshold for rates increases. These changes most likely occur due to physiological effects, but the increase in pulse rate and acceptance threshold may also be used to avoid predation. Additionally, the increase in female acceptance threshold allows them to continue choosing the most attractive male by not mistaking a low-quality male for high-quality due to his new, faster pulse rate. Mate choice Although pheromones alone do not cause a female to move towards a male for mating, odor, signal location, and male-male interactions may play a role in male attractiveness. Additionally, studies have been conducted that show these moths increase their signal rate when having to compete with others for a local female, but due to the physical demands of an increased signal rate, its duration typically lasts only five to ten minutes. It has been concluded that these are the most prevalent few minutes of the entire six to ten hours spent active each night. ==Physiology==

Hearing Sound generation Males produce ultrasonic pulses to attract mates. The sound is produced by a tymbal on each tegula, which covers the forewing. The left and right tymbals emit pulses slightly asynchronously. In order for sound production to occur, the tegula has to be raised and the wings have to be fanned at a 45° arc. A pair of asynchronous pulses are produced during each up and down stroke of the wings. The pulses of sound have a frequency of 100 kHz which is in the middle of the moth's hearing range (20–200 kHz). ==Interactions with humans==

Pest of beekeepers Bald brood A disorder called bald brood occurs in hives infested by lesser wax moths. When feeding on the comb, larvae tunnel under capped cells containing honey bee pupae. This movement causes the caps to become defective. The worker bees will then remove the defective caps. The name bald brood refers to the remaining uncapped cells that reveal the residing pupa. ==See also==