Ultrastructure of Prothoracic Pore Structures of Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae) Native to Jilin, China

Abstract

Abstract In the longhorn beetle subfamily, Cerambycinae, the presence of pore fields on the prothorax of males has been shown to be associated with the production of sex or aggregation pheromones in several species. Adult specimens of nine Cerambycine species in the Tribe Clytini native to the Jilin province (Chlorophorus sexmaculatus (Kraatz), Chlorophorus sulcaticeps Pic, Chlorophorus motschulskyi (Gangl), Cyrtoclytus capra Germar, Plagionotus pulcher Blessig, Rhaphuma acutivittis (Kraatz), Xylotrechus clarinus Bates, Xylotrechus rusticus L., and Xylotrechus cuneipennis (Kraatz)) were examined for the presence and distribution of prothoracic pore fields, by using scanning electron microscopy. For all nine species examined, porous indentations were present on the pleura or both pleura and tergum of males and were absent on females. Porous indentations on the prothorax of males varied significantly among species in both mean density (1.4–7.8 pores per 10,000 µm2) and diameter (2.0–16.5 µm). These results led us to hypothesize that males of these species emit sex or aggregation pheromones and that additional research to test this hypothesis and develop pheromone-based tools for their survey and monitoring is warranted.