scholarly journals Plant odor and sex pheromone are integral elements of specific mate recognition in an insect herbivore

Evolution ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 2225-2233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Borrero‐Echeverry ◽  
Marie Bengtsson ◽  
Kiyoshi Nakamuta ◽  
Peter Witzgall
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Insect Herbivore ◽  
Plant Odor

scholarly journals Plant odour and sex pheromone are integral elements of specific mate recognition in an insect herbivore

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Borrero-Echeverry ◽  
Marie Bengtsson ◽  
Peter Witzgall
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Plant Volatiles ◽  
Sexual Communication ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Pheromone Biosynthesis ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Plant Host ◽  
Male Response ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats

SummarySpecific mate recognition strongly relies on the chemical senses in many animals, and especially in nocturnal insects. Two signal types lend to premating olfactory communication in terrestrial habitats: sex signals blend into an atmosphere of habitat odorants, where plant volatiles prevail. We show for the first time that males of the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis perceive female sex pheromone and volatiles of its plant host cotton as a unit, rather than as independent messages. In clean air, S. littoralis males are attracted to flawed pheromone signals, such as single synthetic pheromone components or even the pheromone of a sibling species, Oriental leafworm S. litura. Presence of host plant volatiles, however, strongly reduces the male response to deficient or heterospecific pheromone signals. That plant cues enhance discrimination of sex pheromone quality confirms the idea that specific mate recognition in noctuid moths has evolved in concert with host plant adaptation. A participation of host plant odour in sexual communication suggests that mate recognition is under natural and sexual selection. Moreover, shifts in either female host preference or sex pheromone biosynthesis give rise to new communication channels that have the potential to initiate or contribute to reproductive isolation.

Factors mediating copulatory behavior and close-range mate recognition in the male gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.)

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1995-2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Charlton ◽  
R. T. Cardé
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Lymantria Dispar ◽  
Virgin Female ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Copulatory Behavior ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Male Copulatory Behavior

Physical models incorporating various structural features of female gypsy moths, Lymantria dispar, were used to identify the specific factors that evoke conspecific male copulatory behavior and play a part in mate recognition. Models invested with virgin female wings or body scales elicited male copulatory responses comparable to those evoked by virgin females. The presence and diameter of models also influenced male copulatory reactions. Exposure to sex pheromone was necessary to prime copulatory behaviors but, by itself, was not sufficient to release these reactions. Males expressed copulatory behaviors most faithfully when the pheromone was supplemented with female abdominal scales applied to cylindrical models either comparable in size or larger than a female. To establish the nature of the cues that prompted copulatory reactions and the sensory basis of these responses, female scales were chemically and structurally altered and male sensory structures were selectively ablated. Solvent, acid, or base extraction of female abdominal scales did not diminish the copulatory response whereas pulverization of the scales eliminated it. Models impregnated with solvent extracts of female abdominal scales elicited copulatory behavior from a higher proportion of males than did controls without extracts, although the mean time spent attempting to copulate did not differ significantly. Males whose compound eyes, tympana, tarsal chemoreceptors, labial palps, or genitalia were ablated displayed fundamentally the same copulatory behaviors as their sham-operated counterparts whereas antennectomy eliminated mating behaviors. Taken together, these findings indicate that tactile cues associated with females serve as primary releasers of copulatory behavior for sex pheromone stimulated males and that chemicals affiliated with female body scales appear to play a relatively minor role in this process.

Olfactory protocerebral pathways processing sex pheromone and plant odor information in the male mothAgrotis segetum

2001 ◽  
Vol 432 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Lei ◽  
Sylvia Anton ◽  
Bill S. Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Plant Odor
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