Abstract
ABSTRACT. The presence of an aggregation pheromone was studied in two species of milkweed bugs. The nymphs, young adults and old adults of Oncopeltus fasciatus were tested for their aggregation in response to acetone extracts of themselves and each other. The O. fasciatus nymphs were also tested for their response to odour from live O. fasciatus nymphs, as well as to Lygaeus kalmii nymphal extract, and the response of L. kalmii nymphs towards O. fasciatus nymph extract was tested. It was found that there is an aggregation pheromone in the nymphs and young adults and that there may be an alarm pheromone in the old adult O. fasciatus. A preliminary chemical analysis performed on the aggregation pheromone revealed it probably to be a polar non‐aromatic compound of high molecular weight.
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