Title: | "Females of the bumblebee parasite, Aphomia sociella, excite males using a courtship pheromone" |
Author(s): | Kindl J; Jiros P; Kalinova B; Zacek P; Valterova I; |
Address: | "Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo nam. 2, 166 10, Prague, Czech Republic" |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-012-0100-3 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Aphomia sociella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Galleriinae) is a parasitic moth of bumblebees. Behavioral experiments show that A. sociella females emit semiochemicals that influence male pre-mating behavior and serve as a courtship pheromone. GC/EAD and two-dimensional GC/MS (GCxGC-TOFMS) analyses of extracts of females revealed three antennally active compounds. Comparative GC and GCxGC-TOFMS analyses of extracts and synthetic standards confirmed the identity of the antennally active compounds as hexan-1-ol (1), 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one (2), and 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-ol (3). In laboratory bioassays, alcohol 3 and, at higher doses, ketone 2 initiated male courtship behavior associated with ultrasonic production. Hexan-1-ol (1) and ketone 2 enhanced the activity of alcohol 3. These data suggest that hexan-1-ol, 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-ol, and 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one constitute the female-produced courtship pheromone of A. sociella" |
Keywords: | "Animal Communication Animals Bees/*parasitology *Courtship Female Lepidoptera/*metabolism Male Sex Attractants/metabolism/*pharmacology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects Volatile Organic Compounds/metabolism/pharmacology;" |
Notes: | "MedlineKindl, Jiri Jiros, Pavel Kalinova, Blanka Zacek, Petr Valterova, Irena eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2012/04/06 J Chem Ecol. 2012 Apr; 38(4):400-7. doi: 10.1007/s10886-012-0100-3. Epub 2012 Apr 4" |