Semiochemistry of aposematic seed bugs (original) (raw)
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Journal of chemical ecology, 2003
The synthetic aggregation pheromone of the large milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus (Dallas) (Lygaeinae), also attracted males of the plant bug, Phytocoris difficilis Knight (Miridae). Field testing partial blends against the six-component blend comprising the Oncopeltus pheromone showed that cross-attraction of P. difficilis males was due to synergism between (E)-2-octenyl acetate and (E,E)-2,4-hexadienyl acetate. Hexyl acetate was abundant in the metathoracic scent gland (MSG) secretion of P. difficilis males, but because female P. difficilis could not initially be found in the field, further combinatorial tests were guided by prior research on the pheromones of two Phytocoris species in the western United States. The combination of hexyl, (E)-2-hexenyl, and (E)-2-octenyl acetates was as attractive to P. difficilis males as the milkweed bug pheromone, yet no milkweed bugs were drawn to this blend. Gas chromatographic (GC)-electroantennographic detection (EAD) and GC-mass spectrome...
Journal of Chemical Ecology
The hawthorn lace bug, Corythucha cydoniae, and the eggplant lace bug, Gargaphia solani, possess alarm pheromones that are produced in dorsal abdominal glands (DAGs). When G. solani nymphs are grasped, they emit secretion from both DAGs; the posterior DAG secretion alone elicits alarm, but the anterior DAG secretion may hasten the response. In C. cydoniae, the response is due to a synergism between the anterior and posterior DAG secretions, and nymphs am apparently unable to voluntarily release their DAG secretions; both DAGs must be ruptured for the pheromone to escape. The alarm pheromones are interspeeifically active in patterns matching the intraspecific activities. Compounds identified from tingid DAG secretions that are involved in the alarm messages are: (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal, acetaldehyde, geraniol, and linalool. A new natural product of unknown function (designated nerolidol aldehyde) was identified from the anterior DAG secretions of both species.
Male-produced anti-sex pheromone in a plant bug
Naturwissenschaften, 2003
In plant bugs (Miridae), females produce sex pheromones in the metathoracic scent gland, which in most other true bugs (Heteroptera) is responsible for chemical defense. The possibility that the metathoracic gland secretion of male plant bugs plays a role other than defense has been largely overlooked. Here we show that in a pine-inhabiting mirid, Phytocoris difficilis Knight, hexyl butyrate and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate are abundantly produced only in males; we demonstrate that these metathoracic gland compounds elicit strong antennal responses in conspecific males, and that these butyrates totally interrupt attraction of males to the femaleproduced sex pheromone. Our results suggest that in at least some plant bugs the male metathoracic scent gland esters have a natural communicative function as anti-sex pheromones, probably to interrupt further mating attempts by other males.
Sex Pheromone of the Plant Bug, Phytocoris calli Knight
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2008
Female Phytocoris calli Knight produce a sex pheromone from metathoracic scent glands. The pheromone consists of hexyl acetate (HA; present in both sexes), with the female-specific compounds (E)-2-hexenyl acetate (E2HA), octyl acetate (OA), and (E)-2-octenyl acetate (E2OA). HA and E2OA are key components of the pheromone, since deletion of either ester from the blend resulted in a total suppression of conspecific male trap catches. However, the binary blend of HA and E2OA was only slightly attractive to males, and was significantly less active than the fourcomponent blend. The two ternary blends, HA/OA/E2OA and HA/E2HA/E2OA, were each as attractive as the full four-component blend. Evidence from previous research on the pheromones of Phytocoris species suggests that the apparent chemical redundancy in the pheromone of P. calli may actually be involved in maintaining reproductive isolation from other sympatric species. The patterns observed for pheromones of the five Phytocoris species whose pheromones have been directly (P. californicus, P. relativus, P. difficilis, and P. calli) or indirectly (P. breviusculus) studied are discussed vis-à-vis the pheromone intractable species of Lygus and Lygocoris plant bugs.
Pheromones in lepidopteran insects: Types, production, reception and its application
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2017
The to semiochemicals that are released by one member of a species and evoke a specific reaction or reactions from members of the same species. Pheromones are known for both the specificity and the potency of their actions. Lepidopteran pheromones were the first to be widely studied and include a huge collection of mostly female based pheromones. Female typically produce long range, fatty acid derived molecules that function over long distances, where as male tend to produce close-range courtship compounds that are often very similar in structure to plant secondary metabolites. After knowing the nature of pheinsect’s universe is filled with many odours. One of these odours is called pheromone, a term commonly applied romones and their potential for pest control along with the future prospective of pheromone technique in agriculture in India, it is highly recommended to enhance availability of pheromone in market, invest more in research and development and introduce newly identified...
Environmental Entomology, 2004
Hexyl butyrate and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate, common metathoracic scent gland compounds of plant bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae), attracted large numbers of female chloropid [Olcella trigramma (Loew), O. cinerea, Conioscinella sp.] and milichiid (Leptometopa latipes Meigen) ßies. Blends of these two butyrates attracted signiÞcantly more chloropids than did the compounds individually. The optimal synergistic ratios for O. trigramma attraction ranged from 1:1Ð9:1 hexyl butyrate to hexenyl butyrate. These values are similar to natural ratios of the compounds in the scent gland secretion from tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris, and other mirids. Antennae of female O. trigramma gave strong electrophysiological responses to (E)-2-hexenyl and hexyl butyrates, whereas electroantennogram responses to butyl butyrate and pentyl butyrate were insigniÞcant. (E)-2-octenyl acetate, one of the major sex pheromone components of mirids in the genus Phytocoris, was strongly attractive to the milichiid, L. latipes, and another pheromone component of Phytocoris bugs, hexyl acetate, was inactive alone, yet synergized the attraction of the milichiid and three chloropid species to (E)-2-octenyl acetate. Traps baited with (E)-2-hexenyl (E)-2-hexenoate, a volatile component of various heteropterans, were signiÞcantly attractive to both O. cinerea and L. latipes, whereas addition of ␥-caprolactone and green leaf alcohols signiÞcantly reduced the numbers of both ßy species caught. Our results suggest that females of these chloropid and milichiid ßies use volatile defensive and pheromonal compounds from plant bugs as kairomones to Þnd freshly injured or dead bugs on which to feed. The sex-speciÞc attraction might indicate that females of these ßies need a protein-rich meal for maximum fecundity, as do anautogenous mosquitoes. KEY WORDS grass ßies, Olcella, kairomone, anautogenous, hexyl butanoate WHILE TESTING POTENTIAL EFFECTS of hexyl butyrate and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate on attraction of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Heteroptera: Miridae), tremendous numbers of various chloropid and milichiid ßies were caught. These two butyrate esters are commonly produced in the metathoracic scent gland of lygus bugs (Aldrich et al. 1988, Ho and Millar 2002) and other mirids (McBrien and Millar 1999). This Þnding led to further study of the kairomonal function of mirid allomones and raised the possibility that mirid sex pheromone omponents (also produced in the metathoracic scent gland) are used as kairomones by these kinds of ßies. This article reports the results of research only. Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation by the USDA for its use.
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2015
Heteropteran insects produce a series of volatile compounds from their scent glands that protect them from predators and parasites. These compounds also play roles in chemical communication that elicit aggregation, dispersal, and mating behaviors. Hygia lativentris (Coreidae) adults frequently aggregate on host plants. When disturbed, they quickly disperse with the release of a sour smell, suggesting that these bugs possess an alarm pheromone in their secretions. This adult secretion-induced dispersal has been examined with a laboratory assay. Hexanal, the predominant component of the adult secretion was identified as a component of the alarm pheromone by evaluation of the adult bug's response time and escape distance from the chemical source. Physicochemical analyses with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that secretory components differed between nymphs and adults, and also during adult aging. Nymphs produced two unsaturated compounds, (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-4-oxo-2hexenal, together with hexanal and 1-hexanol, which were found in all developmental stages. In adults, hexyl acetate was the major component of secretions within 3 days of emerging, while the amount of this ester decreased and those of hexanal, hexanoic acid, and hexanal trimer increased with aging. The decomposition of hexyl acetate into hexanal via 1hexanol was attributed to the presence of esterases and alcohol dehydrogenases specifically found in adult secretory glands. In contrast, the formation of a hexanal trimer may be due to a non-enzymatic reaction under acidic conditions.
Female-produced sexual pheromone ofSceliodes cordalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 1986
Abstraet--(E)-ll-Hexadecen-l-yl acetate and (E)-ll-hexadecen-l-ol were identified in extracts from the abdominal pheromone gland of female SceIiodes cordalis and in a 1:1 ratio acted as a potent field attractant for males. Sustained upwind flight by males to this mixture in a wind tunnel confirmed the identity of these compounds as major components of the natural sex pheromone of this species. The synthetic pheromone was used to define the annual limits of male flight activity. In the presence of 1-10/zg of pheromone per liter of air, the mating rate of laboratory populations was halved. The Z isomers of both pheromone components decreased the numbers of males captured in traps baited with virgin females in the field and inhibited upwind flight in the wind tunnel. The attraction of males of Mnesictena flavidalis to virgin females of S. cordalis and synthetic mixtures was demonstrated to be due to the acetate component alone. Male Eudonia sp. nr linealis were captured by (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-yl acetate.