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Evidence for contact sex recognition pheromone of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

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Abstract

Field observations of the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) mating behavior in China suggested that a female-produced contact pheromone was almost certainly involved in sex recognition. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of A. glabripennis adults' whole body cuticular extracts indicates that a series of long-chain hydrocarbons comprise the cuticular waxes of both sexes. Although for the most part the GC profiles are similar for the two sexes, five monounsaturated compounds were consistently more abundant in samples from females than in those from males. These compounds were identified as (Z)-9-tricosene, (Z)-9-pentacosene, (Z)-7-pentacosene, (Z)-9-heptacosene, and (Z)-7-heptacosene in the approximate ratio of 1:2:2:8:1, respectively. Antennal and palpi contact to a polypropylene micro-centrifuge tube coated with a synthetic mixture of the five compounds stimulated copulatory behavior in males.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms. Junying Nie of the Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory for assistance with syntheses and laboratory bioassay. Thanks also go to Dr. Melody Keena, USDA Forest Service, Ansonia, Conn. and Dr. Ann Hajek, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., for supplying beetles. Mentions of trade names or commercial products in this article are solely for the purpose of providing specific information and do not imply recommendation or endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville Agriculture Research Center-West, USDA Agriculture Research Services, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA

    Aijun Zhang, James E. Oliver & Kamal Chauhan

  2. College of Forest Resources and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Long Pan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037, PR China

    Boguang Zhao & Luqing Xia

  3. College of Forest Resources, Beijing Forestry University, 35 Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, PR China

    Zhichun Xu

Authors
  1. Aijun Zhang
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  2. James E. Oliver
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  3. Kamal Chauhan
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  4. Boguang Zhao
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  5. Luqing Xia
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  6. Zhichun Xu
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Correspondence to Aijun Zhang.

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Zhang, A., Oliver, J.E., Chauhan, K. et al. Evidence for contact sex recognition pheromone of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Naturwissenschaften 90, 410–413 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0452-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0452-1

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