Odour-mediated sexual attraction in nabids (Heteroptera: Nabidae)

Steffen Roth,Maurice W Sabelis,Arne Janssen

doi:10.14411/eje.2008.022

Abstract

In many insects, mate finding is mediated by volatile sex pheromones, but evidence in nabids is still fragmentary. The role of odour-mediated sexual attraction in two nabid species, Nabis pseudoferus and N. rugosus, was studied in a Y-tube olfactometer. Females of the two species were significantly attracted by odours of conspecifics males, and males of N. rugosus, but not of N. pseudoferus, were attracted by odours of conspecific females. Odours of conspecifics of the same gender were unattractive. These results suggest the existence of male pheromones in both species and a different female pheromone in N. rugosus.

Highlights

In arthropods, mates use visual, chemical and/or acoustic communication to find each other (Lewis, 1984), but volatile sex pheromones are the most widespread means of sexual attraction (Cardé & Minks, 1997)
Communication between genders is well-studied in some heteropterans (e.g. Aldrich, 1988, 1995; Landolt & Philips, 1997), there is little information on pheromones in the Nabidae, a predatory heteropteran family, (Aldrich, 1988; Lattin, 1989), which is remarkable in view of their importance for pest suppression in agroecosystems
A role for chemical cues in sexual attraction has been suggested for nabids (Harris, 1928; Söcknick, 1974; Carayon, 1977; Pericart, 1987; Hartwig, 1990; Roth & Remane, 2003), but the evidence so far concerns the existence of male pheromones in the nabid Prostemma guttula (Kott, 2000) only

Summary

Introduction

Mates use visual, chemical and/or acoustic communication to find each other (Lewis, 1984), but volatile sex pheromones are the most widespread means of sexual attraction (Cardé & Minks, 1997). Sound measurements revealed no evidence that nabids use acoustic signals (Leston, 1957), and the extent to which they use visual cues to find mates is unknown (Freund & Olmstead, 2000; Roth & Remane, 2003). A role for chemical cues in sexual attraction has been suggested for nabids (Harris, 1928; Söcknick, 1974; Carayon, 1977; Pericart, 1987; Hartwig, 1990; Roth & Remane, 2003), but the evidence so far concerns the existence of male pheromones in the nabid Prostemma guttula (Kott, 2000) only (see Aldrich, 1988, 1995)

Methods

Results

Conclusion