Evidence for chemically-mediated mate location and recognition in the primitive long-horned beetle Mallodon dasystomus (Say) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Abstract
Little is known of the reproductive behavior of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the subfamily Prioninae. Mallodon dasystomus (Say), the hardwood stump borer, is a widely distributed prionine native to the southern US. In this study, we explore the chemically-mediated mating behavior of M. dasystomus and test the hypotheses that females produce a sex pheromone to bring males into proximity, and that males recognize females by a contact pheromone. In Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, males alone responded only to female beetles, suggesting that females release a volatile sex pheromone. In mating bioassays, all males tested attempted to mate with females only after contacting them with their antennae. Moreover, all males attempted to mate with solvent-washed dead females treated with as little as 0.153 ± 0.03 female equivalents of conspecific cuticular extracts, confirming that non-polar compounds on the cuticle of females are essential for mate recognition. These findings are further evidence of the critical role of pheromones in mating systems of longhorned beetles.
Degree
M.S.
Advisors
Ginzel, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Organismal biology
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