Abstract: In order to search the mating system of male and female adults of the white-striped longhorn beetle, Batocera lineolata Chevrolat, we studied the encountering behavior of male and female of B. lineolata by laboratory observation in combination with automatic record and analysis through video tracking capture system (EthoVision 3.1). The test results by behavior instrument showed that the intersection time of two tracks and net relative movements between one male and one female were longer than that between one female and one female or between one male and one male during the encountering process (P<0.05), while their reaction time was shorter than that for female-female or male-male (P<0.05). In the laboratory experiment, it was observed that the encountering process of B. lineolata included three behaviors, i.e., avoidance, fight and mating. During female-female encountering process, the maximum voidance rate was 80.98% (P<0.05). In male-male encountering, the avoidance rate was 78.03%, which was much higher than the fight rate of 21.96% (P<0.05). Avoidance rate between one male or female and a couple under mating process was much higher than that for another three behaviors, i.e., fight (continue to mate), fight (finish mating) and fight (mate with new comers) (P<0.05). There was a sexual difference (P<0.05) in occurrence frequency of these three bahaviors, i.e., avoidance, fight (continue to mate) and fight (finish mating) between the male and the female. If it was the first encountering for two males, the fight rate was much higher than that for their second encountering (P<0.05), and the avoidance rate for their second encountering was much higher than that for the first time (P<0.05). But the mating rate for the first encountering of a male and a female was much higher than that for their second encountering (P<0.05). The study upon encountering behavior of B. lineolata provides the basis for studying calling mechanism and sex pheromone biosynthesis of B. lineolata as well as reproductive behavior of the adults.

Key words: Batocera lineolata, behavioral response, encountering behavior, avoidance behavior, fighting behavior, mating behavior