1
|
Fouche Q, Charabidze D, Lucas C. Synomones in necrophagous larvae of the blow flies Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vomitoria. MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 37:170-175. [PMID: 36196866 DOI: 10.1111/mve.12614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Chemical signals are widespread in insects, but those resulting in interspecific communication (i.e., synomones) remain understudied. Here, we analysed chemicals left on substrates by two species of blow fly larvae, Lucilia sericata (Meigen) and Calliphora vomitoria (Linneaus) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), which can aggregate together on carrion. Using solid-phase microextraction and dynamic headspace analysis, we identified six compounds common to both species: the decanoic, tetradecanoic, pentadecanoic, hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids, and the 2-ethylhexyl salicylate. We then tested the behavioural effects of the decanoic and pentadecanoic acids using binary-choice experiments, along with the (Z)-9-tricosene, a pheromone found in many arthropods. The time spent by a larva and its average crawling speed were measured in two sides of an arena, where only one contained a compound at 0.25 or 25 μg/μl. No effect was observed when testing the decanoic acid. The pentadecanoic acid only reduced the speed of C. vomitoria larvae at 25 μg/μl. Finally, L. sericata larvae spent less time in the side containing the (Z)-9-tricosene at 0.25 μg/μl, whereas C. vomitoria spent more time and crawled faster in this side at 25 μg/μl. Although these results did not directly evidence synomones, they suggest that the (Z)-9-tricosene could regulate larval aggregations on carrion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Fouche
- CHU Lille, EA 7367 - UTML - Unité de Taphonomie Médico-Légale, University of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Damien Charabidze
- UMR 8025, Centre d'Histoire Judiciaire, University of Lille, Lille, France
- Unit of Social Ecology (USE), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Christophe Lucas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (UMR 7261), CNRS - University of Tours, Tours, France
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Identification of Cuticular and Web Lipids of the Spider Argiope bruennichi. J Chem Ecol 2022; 48:244-262. [PMID: 35006525 PMCID: PMC8934766 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01338-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Emerging evidence shows that the cuticular and silk lipids of spiders are structurally more diverse than those of insects, although only a relatively low number of species have been investigated so far. As in insects, such lipids might play a role as signals in various contexts. The wasp spider Argiope bruennichi has probably the best investigated chemical communication system within spiders, including the known structure of the female sex pheromone. Recently we showed that kin-recognition in A. bruennichi could be mediated through the cuticular compounds consisting of hydrocarbons and, to a much larger proportion, of wax esters. By use of mass spectrometry and various derivatization methods, these were identified as esters of 2,4-dimethylalkanoic acids and 1-alkanols of varying chain lengths, such as tetradecyl 2,4-dimethylheptadecanoate. A representative enantioselective synthesis of this compound was performed which proved the identifications and allowed us to postulate that the natural enantiomer likely has the (2R,4R)-configuration. Chemical profiles of the silk and cuticular lipids of females were similar, while male cuticular profiles differed from those of females. Major components of the male cuticular lipids were tridecyl 2,4-dimethyl-C17-19 alkanoates, whereas those of females were slightly longer, comprising tridecyl 2,4-dimethyl-C19-21 alkanoates. In addition, minor female-specific 4-methylalkyl esters were detected.
Collapse
|
3
|
Pheromone communication among sexes of the garden cross spider Araneus diadematus. Naturwissenschaften 2021; 108:38. [PMID: 34448943 PMCID: PMC8397638 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-021-01747-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Chemical communication plays a fundamental role in many aspects of an animal’s life from assessing habitat quality to finding mating partners. Behavioural observations show that chemical communication likewise plays an important role in spiders, but the contexts and the substances involved are little explored. Here, we investigate the chemical communication in the garden cross spider Araneus diadematus (Clerck, 1757) between and within the sexes. Using choice trials, we demonstrate that males are attracted to odours of adult females, but not to those of subadult females. Our data further suggest that adult females avoid odours of conspecific adult females, possibly in order to reduce reproductive competition with other females. Cuticle and silk extracts as well as headspace samples of subadult and adult virgin females were analysed via GC–MS. Available candidate compounds for the female sex pheromone were tested via electroantennography on palps (electropalpography) of adult virgin females and on females in behavioural trials. We propose sulcatone (6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one) as a candidate substance for the female volatile pheromone and several long-chained alkanes and alcohols as candidates for contact pheromones. Apart from demonstrating that attraction of males to females depends on the latter’s developmental stage, our study suggests that pheromones can also play an important role between females, an aspect that requires further attention.
Collapse
|
4
|
Fischer A, Goh XH, Varney JLS, Blake AJ, Takács S, Gries G. Multimodal and multifunctional signaling? - Web reduction courtship behavior in a North American population of the false black widow spider. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228988. [PMID: 32101544 PMCID: PMC7043733 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Males of widow spiders courting on the web of females engage in web-reduction behavior which entails excising a section of the web, bundling it up, and wrapping it with their silk. Males of the false black widow spider, Steatoda grossa, in European populations also produce stridulatory courtship sound which has not yet been studied in their invaded North American range. Working with a North American population of S. grossa, we tested the hypotheses that (1) web reduction by males renders webs less attractive to rival males; (2) deposition of silk by courting males has an inter-sexual (male-female) signal function that enhances their likelihood of copulation; and (3) stridulatory sound is a courtship signal of males. Testing anemotactic attraction of males in Y-tube olfactometer experiments revealed that reduced webs (indicative of a mated female) and intact webs (indicative of a virgin female) were equally attractive to males. Recording courtship behavior of males with either functional (silk-releasing) spinnerets or spinnerets experimentally occluded on the web of virgin females showed that males with functional spinnerets were more likely to copulate with the female they courted. Although males possess the stridulatory apparatus to produce courtship sound, they did not stridulate when courting or copulating on the web of females. Our data support the conclusion that web-reduction behavior of S. grossa males in their invaded North American range has no long-range effect on mate seeking males. Instead, web-reduction behavior has an inter-sexual signaling function that seems to be linked to functional spinnerets of the courting male. The signal produced by a male likely entails a volatile silk-borne pheromone, but may also embody a gauge of his endurance (the amount of time he engages in web reduction causing web vibrations).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Fischer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Xiang Hao Goh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | | | - Adam J. Blake
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Stephen Takács
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Gerhard Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Chen ZW, Zhao YF, He SC, Liu KK, Liu JH, Xiao YH. Particular Levels of Odors Released by Virgin Females Attract Conspecific Males of the Funnel-Web Spider Allagelena difficilis. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:905-914. [PMID: 30097768 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-0998-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 06/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Female-released chemical signals are crucial clues for mate-searching males to locate and gain sexual receptivity of conspecific females. Abundant behavioral evidence indicates that female spiders release sex pheromones to guide mate-searching behavior of conspecific mature males. However, the chemical nature of spider pheromones is poorly understood. Females of the funnel-web spider, Allagelena difficilis, employ sit-and-wait tactics for mating. Field observations indicate that males leave their retreats to search for potential mates during the breeding season. Therefore, we investigated whether virgin females release a sex attractant to conspecific males and then explored the chemical nature of the female pheromone. Four fatty acids extracted from the female bodies (palmitic acid, linoleic acid, cis-vaccenic acid and stearic acid) constitute a multiple-component sex attractant to conspecific males in A. difficilis. Unexpectedly, mated females also produce the same fatty acids, but at trace levels. Two-choice experiments showed that males were significantly attracted by the blend of the four fatty acids in appropriate concentrations while avoiding the blend consisting of the same acids at very low concentrations, suggesting that mate-searching males are able to discriminate virgin females from mated females by the quantities of female-specific fatty acids in the funnel-web spider A. difficilis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Wu Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, 343009, Jiangxi, China
- School of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, Jiangxi, China
| | - Yi-Fan Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, 343009, Jiangxi, China
| | - Shi-Cong He
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, 343009, Jiangxi, China
| | - Ke-Ke Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, 343009, Jiangxi, China
| | - Ji-He Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, 343009, Jiangxi, China
- College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, Hunan, China
| | - Yong-Hong Xiao
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, 343009, Jiangxi, China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Brown RE, Bolivar S. The importance of behavioural bioassays in neuroscience. J Neurosci Methods 2018; 300:68-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Revised: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
|
7
|
Henneken J, Goodger JQ, Jones TM, Elgar MA. The potential role of web-based putrescine as a prey-attracting allomone. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
8
|
Zizzari ZV, Engl T, Lorenz S, van Straalen NM, Ellers J, Groot AT. Love at first sniff: a spermatophore-associated pheromone mediates partner attraction in a collembolan species. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
9
|
Multimodal Communication in Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae)—An Emerging Model for Study. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2016.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
|
10
|
N-3-Methylbutanoyl-O-methylpropanoyl-L-serine Methyl Ester - Pheromone Component of Western Black Widow Females. J Chem Ecol 2015; 41:465-72. [PMID: 25940849 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-015-0582-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2014] [Revised: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 04/18/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Chemical communication is common in spiders but few pheromones have been identified. Female widow spiders in the genus Latrodectus spin webs that disseminate an attractive sex pheromone, and a contact pheromone on the silk elicits courtship behavior by males. The methyl ester of N-3-methylbutanoyl-O-(S)-2-methylbutanoyl-L-serine is a contact pheromone of the Australian redback spider Latrodectus hasselti. We hypothesized that the contact pheromone of congeneric L. hesperus resembles that of L. hasselti. The silk of virgin L. hesperus females was extracted with methanol, and analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) provided evidence for the presence of N-3-methylbutanoyl-O-methylpropanoyl-L-serine methyl ester (MB-MP-S), a lower homologue of the L. hasselti contact pheromone. Behavioral responses of L. hesperus males to test stimuli were assayed on T-shaped rods with the end sections of the horizontal arm enveloped in filter paper. Males spent 40 % longer in contact with paper bearing female silk than with blank paper, and 39 % longer in contact with paper treated with silk extract than with solvent controls. Contact with silk and silk extract induced courtship behavior by 96 % and 80 % of males, respectively, indicating that there was a methanol-soluble courtship-eliciting contact pheromone on the silk. Males responded less strongly to synthetic MB-MP-S than to silk or silk extract. Paper impregnated with synthetic MB-MP-S (10 or 100 μg) induced courtship behavior in 3-16 % of males, and prompted males to stay 10-16 % longer than on control paper. Our data support the conclusion that MB-MP-S is part of a multi-component contact pheromone of L. hesperus.
Collapse
|
11
|
Gołębiowski M, Cerkowniak M, Urbanek A, Dawgul M, Kamysz W, Boguś MI, Stepnowski P. Identification and antifungal activity of novel organic compounds found in cuticular and internal lipids of medically important flies. Microbiol Res 2015; 170:213-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2014.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2014] [Revised: 05/31/2014] [Accepted: 06/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
12
|
Vujisić LV, Antić DŽ, Vučković IM, Sekulić TL, Tomić VT, Mandić BM, Tešević VV, Ćurčić BPM, Vajs VE, Makarov SE. Chemical Defense in Millipedes (Myriapoda, Diplopoda): Do Representatives of the Family Blaniulidae Belong to the ‘Quinone’ Clade? Chem Biodivers 2014; 11:483-90. [DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.201300355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
13
|
A Male-Predominant Cuticular Hydrocarbon, 7-Methyltricosane, is used as a Contact Pheromone in the Western Flower Thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. J Chem Ecol 2013; 39:559-68. [PMID: 23519504 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-013-0272-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2012] [Revised: 01/26/2013] [Accepted: 03/08/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
14
|
Schulz S. Spider pheromones - a structural perspective. J Chem Ecol 2012; 39:1-14. [PMID: 23269451 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-012-0231-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2012] [Revised: 12/10/2012] [Accepted: 12/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Spiders use pheromones for sexual communication, as do other animals such as insects. Nevertheless, knowledge about their chemical structure, function, and biosynthesis is only now being unraveled. Many studies have shown the existence of spider pheromones, but the responsible compounds have been elucidated in only a few cases. This review focuses on a structural approach because we need to know the involved chemistry if we are to understand fully the function of a pheromonal communication system. Pheromones from members of the spider families Pholcidae, Araneidae, Linyphiidae, Agenelidae, and Ctenidae are currently being identified and will be discussed in this review. Some of these compounds belong to compound classes not known from other arthropod pheromones, such as citric acid derivatives or acylated amino acids, whereas others originate from more common fatty acid metabolism. Their putative biosynthesis, their function, and the identification methods used will be discussed. Furthermore, other semiochemicals and the chemistry of apolar surface lipids that potentially might be used by spiders for communication are described briefly.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schulz
- Institut für Organische Chemie, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Hagenring 30, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Love is in the air: olfaction-based mate-odour identification by jumping spiders from the genus Cyrba. J ETHOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-012-0345-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Jumping spiders (Salticidae) are known for having good eyesight, but the extent to which they rely on olfaction is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate for the first time that olfactory pheromones are used by two species from the salticid genus Cyrba (C. algerina and C. ocellata). Using a Y-shape olfactometer, we investigated the ability of adult males and females of both species to discriminate between mate and non-mate odour. A hidden spider or a spider’s draglines (no spider present) were used as odour sources. There was no evident response by females of either Cyrba species to any tested odour. Males of both species chose odour from conspecific females, or their draglines, significantly more often than the no-odour control, but there was no evident response by males to any of the other odours (conspecific male and heterospecific female). Our findings demonstrate that C. algerina and C. ocellata males can make sex- and species-specific discriminations even when restricted to using olfaction alone. Also, by showing that draglines can be a source of olfactory pheromones, our findings illustrate the difficulty of ruling out olfaction when attempting to test for chemotactile cues.
Collapse
|
16
|
Nelson XJ, Warui CM, Jackson RR. Widespread reliance on olfactory sex and species identification by lyssomanine and spartaeine jumping spiders. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01965.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ximena J. Nelson
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Canterbury; Private Bag 4800 Christchurch New Zealand
| | - Charles M. Warui
- National Museums of Kenya; Department of Zoology; Invertebrate Zoology Section; PO Box 40658 Postcode 00100 Nairobi Kenya
- Department of Natural Sciences; Faculty of Pure & Applied Sciences; Mount Kenya University; PO Box 342-01000 Thika Kenya
| | - Robert R. Jackson
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Canterbury; Private Bag 4800 Christchurch New Zealand
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology; Thomas Odhiambo Campus; PO Box 30 Mbita Point Kenya
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Brum PED, Costa-Schmidt LE, Araújo AMD. It is a matter of taste: chemical signals mediate nuptial gift acceptance in a neotropical spider. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
|
18
|
Zhang S, Kuntner M, Li D. Mate binding: male adaptation to sexual conflict in the golden orb-web spider (Nephilidae: Nephila pilipes). Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
19
|
Zhang JX. An Approach to Search for Putative Pheromones in Birds via Chemical Analysis--A Reply to Mardon J, Saunders SM, and Bonadonna F. Chem Senses 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjq099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|