The integrity of social insect colonies is maintained by members recognising and responding to the chemical cues present on the cuticle of any intruder. Nevertheless, myrmecophiles use chemical mimicry to gain access to these nests, and their mimetic signals may be acquired through biosynthesis or through contact with the hosts or their nest material. The cuticular hydrocarbon profile of the myrmecophilous salticid spider Cosmophasis bitaeniata closely resembles that of its host ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Here, we show that the chemical resemblance of the spider does not arise through physical contact with the adult ants, but instead the spider acquires the cuticular hydrocarbons by eating the ant larvae. More significantly, we show that the variation in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of the spider depends upon the colony of origin of the ant larvae prey, rather than the parentage of the spider.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0507-y | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Novel genomic features in entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana ILB308: accessory genomic regions and putative virulence genes involved in the infection process of soybean pest Piezodorus guildinii.
Pest Manag Sci
January 2025
Laboratorio de Bioproducción, Bioinsumos, INIA Las Brujas, Canelones, Uruguay.
Background: Biological control methods involving entomopathogenic fungi like Beauveria bassiana have been shown to be a valuable approach in integrated pest management as an environmentally friendly alternative to control pests and pathogens. Identifying genetic determinants of pathogenicity in B. bassiana is instrumental for enhancing its virulence against insects like the resistant soybean pest Piezodorus guildinii.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFurther Evidence That Female (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Utilizes Photo-Degradation to Produce Volatiles That Are Attractive to Adult Males.
Insects
November 2024
Forest Pest Methods Laboratory, USDA-APHIS-PPQ-S&T, 1398 West Truck Road, Buzzards Bay, MA 02542, USA.
The Asian longhorned beetle, (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae), is a serious pest of over 43 species of hardwood trees in North America, China and Europe. The development of an effective lure and trap for monitoring has been hindered by the fact that mate finding involves a rather complex series of behaviors and responses to several chemical (and visual), cues. Adults (female-biased) locate a tree via host kairomones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRectal glands and tergal glands as sources of volatile pheromones in cucumber fruit fly, Zeugodacus Cucumis.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Applied BioSciences, Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, Sydney, Australia.
Male tephritid fruit flies typically emit pheromones from rectal glands to attract mates. Consistent with this, virgin females of the cucumber fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucumis (French), were found to be attracted to volatiles emitted by crushed male rectal glands in Y-tube olfactometer bioassays. Electrophysiological studies identified several male rectal gland compounds that triggered responses in female antennae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn previous work, we found that short sleep caused sensitivity to oxidative stress; here we set out to characterize the physiological state of a diverse group of chronically short-sleeping mutants during hyperoxia as an acute oxidative stress. Using RNA-sequencing analysis, we found that short-sleeping mutants had a normal transcriptional oxidative stress response relative to controls. In both short-sleeping mutants and controls, hyperoxia led to downregulation of glycolytic genes and upregulation of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, reminiscent of metabolic shifts during sleep.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTesting the genomic overlap between intraspecific mating traits and interspecific mating barriers.
Evol Lett
December 2024
Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
Differences in interspecific mating traits, such as male sexual signals and female preferences, often evolve quickly as initial barriers to gene flow between nascent lineages, and they may also strengthen such barriers during secondary contact via reinforcement. However, it is an open question whether loci contributing to intraspecific variation in sexual traits are co-opted during the formation and strengthening of mating barriers between species. To test this, we used a population genomics approach in natural populations of Australian cricket sister species that overlap in a contact zone: and First, we identified loci associated with intraspecific variation in mating signals: advertisement song and cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) pheromones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!