Abstract
The small hive beetle, Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is an economically important pest of the Western honeybee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae). We investigated the effect of rearing environment on the cuticular chemical profile of adult A. tumida, using hexane to extract the hydrocarbons and other compounds from the cuticles of beetles. Beetles were collected from A. mellifera colonies in Australia as well as reared in single sex laboratory cultures on different diets. We investigated whether rearing environment (laboratory vs. field, different apiaries, access to mating partners, diet) had any effect on cuticular hydrocarbons. Coupled gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses of the extracts showed that rearing environment had significant qualitative and quantitative effects on the hydrocarbons detected. The data support the hypothesis that cuticular profiles of A. tumida are contingent on environment, partitioning on the basis of rearing diet and source hives. The finding has implications for the regulation of interactions between A. tumida and honeybees and improvements in targeting of management strategies.
Highlights
Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are long-chain hydrocarbons that function to prevent desiccation, can act as mating cues, and can be important determinants of species recognition; they are mainly alkanes, alkenes, and methyl-branched alkanes (Blomquist and Bagnères 2010; Carlson et al 1971; Chung and Carroll 2015)
Aldehydes account for 2% of the cuticular lipids of the cabbage seed weevil Ceutorhynchus assimilis (Paykull)V(oCl.:o(0l1e2o3p45te67ra89:) Curculionidae) (Richter and Krain 1980), and in the pecan weevil Curculio caryae (Horn) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), odd-chain methylketones represent 1%
Laboratory-reared A. tumida were maintained as described by Cribb et al (2013)
Summary
Bagnères 2010; Carlson et al 1971; Chung and Carroll 2015). The cuticle may hold other compounds of ecological and biological significance, such as lipids including wax esters, sterol esters, ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, and acids (Blomquist and Bagnères 2010). There can be sex-dependent differences in CHC profiles This may be due to chemical communication in mate finding and mate choice, copulatory stimulants, and short-range attractants. In Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae), mating produces dramatic changes in CHC profiles of both male and female flies (Everaerts et al 2010) Another important role of cuticular odours sometimes seen is that of chemical mimicry: one species taking on an odour profile of another species. The small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is a pest of Western honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and is economically significant in the USA and Australia (Neumann et al 2016). It has relevance to research of this species using laboratory culture, when compared with field populations, and more broadly, this study contributes to our understanding of social insect pests and adaptive chemical mimicry
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