Abstract
In a field-trapping experiment with plant volatiles, we observed notably high attraction of green lacewing (Chrysotropia ciliata) males to the compound p-anisaldehyde. Based on this finding, we initiated the present study to elucidate this phenomenon and to investigate the chemical ecology of C. ciliata. Scanning electron microscopy revealed elliptical glands abundantly distributed on the 2nd to 6th abdominal sternites of C. ciliata males, whereas females of the species completely lacked such glands. No p-anisaldehyde was found in extractions of body parts of C. ciliata. Methyl p-anisate and p-methoxybenzoic acid were identified exclusively in the extract from abdominal segments 2–8 of males. Field-trapping experiments revealed no attraction of C. ciliata to either methyl p-anisate or p-methoxybenzoic acid. In contrast, males showed marked attraction to p-anisaldehyde in the field and antennae showed strong responses to this compound. Headspace collections in the field from living insects in their natural environment and during their main daily activity period indicated that p-anisaldehyde was emitted exclusively by C. ciliata males. Our overall results suggest that p-anisaldehyde might serve as a male-produced pheromone that attracts conspecific C. ciliata males. Here, we discuss hypotheses regarding possible mechanisms involved in regulation of p-anisaldehyde production, including involvement of the compounds methyl p-anisate and p-methoxybenzoic acid, and the potential ecological function of p-anisaldehyde in C. ciliata.
Highlights
The ability of conspecific insects to identify and find each other in the environment is determined by the power and effectiveness of intraspecific communication
The gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GCMS) analyses of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) extracts showed that methyl p-anisate and p-methoxybenzoic acid were present in all samples of abdominal cuticle from males, whereas these compounds were absent in extracts from both the abdominal tip and thorax of males and in all samples from females (Fig. 2)
Our results suggest that p-anisaldehyde serves as a maleproduced pheromone that attracts conspecific males of C. ciliata
Summary
The ability of conspecific insects to identify and find each other in the environment is determined by the power and effectiveness of intraspecific communication. Such exchange of information involves highly diverse mechanisms, systems, and tactics, which are chemical, visual, or acoustical in nature (Haynes and Yeargan 1999; Johansson and Jones 2007; Virant-Doberlet and Čokl 2004). In addition to intraspecific chemical signals, research has revealed diverse and subtle chemical relationships between lacewings and the environment (Szentkirályi 2001a), and several allelochemicals (interspecific chemical signals) affecting the behavioural ecology of green lacewings have been identified (reviewed by Aldrich and Zhang 2016). Recent studies have shown that a blend of common floral volatiles and herbivore-induced plant volatiles (methyl salicylate, acetic acid, and phenylacetaldehyde) acts as a strong attractant for Chrysoperla carnea s.l. (Stephens), and this attraction applies to both sexes, increasing egg laying in this species and thereby augmenting aphid predation (e.g., Jones et al 2016; Koczor et al 2015; Pålsson et al 2019; Tóth et al 2009)
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