Pheromones in Longhorn Beetles with a Special Focus on Contact Pheromones

Abstract

Longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) utilize pheromones to find and recognize their mates. Long-range attractant pheromones have recently been chemically identified from a number of cerambycid species. In contrast, knowledge on the contact pheromones in cerambycids, which are essential for the recognition of mates, is limited. In this chapter, we first overview the volatile pheromones in Cerambycidae. We then describe the identification of contact pheromones in two cerambycid species, the yellow-spotted longicorn beetle Psacothea hilaris and the white-spotted longicorn beetle Anoplophora malasiaca. The contact pheromone of the former species consists of a single hydrocarbon, whereas that of the latter species is a markedly complex mixture of 15 components (8 hydrocarbons, 4 aliphatic ketones, and 3 lactones), the identification of which was achieved through research spanning a quarter of century. Lastly, difficulties and problems in the studies of contact pheromones in cerambycids are discussed.