Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): cantharidin as precopulatory "enticing" agent.

Eisner, Thomas; Smedley, Scott R.; Young, Daniel K.; Eisner, Maria; Roach, Braden; Meinwald, Jerrold

doi:10.1073/pnas.93.13.6494

Cited by 57 publications

(47 citation statements)

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“…Source and maintenance of beetles, chemical analyses for cantharidin content, and statistical analyses were as described (1). Values (including those in the figures) are given as mean ± SEM.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): Cantharidin as "nuptial gift".

Eisner

Smedley

Young

et al. 1996

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The amount of cantharidin (Spanish fly) that the Neopyrochroaflabellata male presents to the female as a glandular offering during courtship represents only a small fraction of the total cantharidin the male accumulates systemically following ingestion of the compound. A major fraction of the acquired cantharidin is stored by the male in the large accessory glands of the reproductive system. At mating, the male transfers this supply, presumably as part of the sperm package, to the spermatheca of the female. The female in turn allocates the gift to the eggs. Eggs endowed with cantharidin proved relatively invulnerable to attack by a predaceous beetle larva (Coleomegilla maculata).We demonstrate here that the cantharidin ingested by male Neopyrochroa flabellata (1) is transferred in large measure to the female at mating, and by the female, for protective purposes, to the eggs. Specifically, we demonstrate that (i) cantharidin (Spanish fly), ingested by the male, accumulates primarily in the large accessory glands of the reproductive system; (ii) mating leads to appearance of cantharidin in the sperm receptacle (spermatheca) of the female; (iii) eggs sired by cantharidin-fed males contain cantharidin; and (iv) cantharidin-laden eggs, unlike cantharidin-free eggs, are protected against predation. Preliminary aspects of this study were reported earlier (2). MATERIALS AND METHODSSource and maintenance of beetles, chemical analyses for cantharidin content, and statistical analyses were as described (1). Values (including those in the figures) are given as mean ± SEM.Cantharidin Feeding. Males designated as cantharidin-fed (n = 58) were offered crystalline cantharidin as described (1). Total cantharidin offered to individuals ranged from 5 to 3050 ,ug, given over a span of 1-31 days. Mean quantity per beetle was 766 ± 83 ,ug, given over a period of 8.4 ± 0.9 days.Males designated as cantharidin-unfed (n = 34) were kept unexposed to cantharidin.Dissection. Beetles were killed by freezing and dissected under saline solution. Components of the male reproductive system that were analyzed for cantharidin content were (see Fig. 1A) as follows: testes, including the ducts leading to the seminal vesicles; seminal vesicles; large accessory glands; small accessory glands; and ejaculatory duct. Components of the female reproductive system that were analyzed were (see Fig. 1C) as follows: ovaries, spermatheca, and median oviduct. For both males and females, heads were also analyzed, as well as the alimentary canal, and a sample, designated as remains, consisting of all body parts, minus head, reproductive system, and gut. All samples were weighed immediately after dissection. A small fraction of samples was lost in the course of the analyses (sample sizes for component parts were therefore sometimes variable).Dissection of mated males (n = 7) and mated females (n = 9) was performed, respectively, within 1.0-3.5 h (2.6 ± 0.4 h) and 0.1-2.7 h (1.2 ± 0.3 h) after mating.Matings. These were staged in Petri dishes, as in the co...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): Cantharidin as "nuptial gift".

Eisner

Smedley

Young

et al. 1996

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

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“…Chemical senses are of particular importance in the sexual communication of insects, and there is increasing evidence that sex pheromones provide not only information on the presence and identity of a potential mate but also its individual quality (Lewis & Austad 1994;Eisner et al 1996;Svensson 1996;Iyengar et al 2001;Reusch et al 2001;Beeler et al 2002;Rantala et al 2002;Carazo et al 2004;Johansson & Jones 2007;Koh et al 2009). Key criteria for the function of a chemical signal as mate assessment pheromone are as follows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantity matters: male sex pheromone signals mate quality in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis

et al. 2009

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Sexual selection theory asserts that females are well adapted to sense signals indicating the quality of potential mates. One crucial male quality parameter is functional fertility (i.e. the success of ejaculates in fertilizing eggs). The phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis (PLFH) predicts that functional fertility of males is reflected by phenotypic traits that influence female mate choice. Here, we show for Nasonia vitripennis, a parasitic wasp with haplodiploid sex determination and female-biased sex ratios, that females use olfactory cues to discriminate against sperm-limited males. We found sperm limitation in newly emerged and multiply mated males (seven or more previous matings) as indicated by a higher proportion of sons in the offspring fathered by these males. Sperm limitation correlated with clearly reduced pheromone titres. In behavioural bioassays, females oriented towards higher doses of the synthetic pheromone and were attracted more often to scent marks of males with a full sperm load than to those of spermlimited males. Our data support the PLFH and suggest that N. vitripennis females are able to decrease the risk of getting constrained to produce suboptimal offspring sex ratios by orienting towards gradients of the male sex pheromone.

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“…Direct physiological costs accrue, for instance, if the signal intensity depends on the availability of limited nutritional resources like certain secondary metabolites being accumulated as signals themselves [7][8][9][10] or functioning as signal precursors [11 -16]. But also macronutrients may influence the intensity of sexual signals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

Blaul

Rüther

2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Sexual selection theory predicts that phenotypic traits used to choose a mate should reflect honestly the quality of the sender and thus, are often costly. Physiological costs arise if a signal depends on limited nutritional resources. Hence, the nutritional condition of an organism should determine both its quality as a potential mate and its ability to advertise this quality to the choosing sex. In insects, the quality of the offspring's nutrition is often determined by the ovipositing female. A causal connection, however, between the oviposition decisions of the mother and the mating chances of her offspring has never been shown. Here, we demonstrate that females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis prefer those hosts for oviposition that have been experimentally enriched in linoleic acid (LA). We show by 13 C-labelling that LA from the host diet is a precursor of the male sex pheromone. Consequently, males from LA-rich hosts produce and release higher amounts of the pheromone and attract more virgin females than males from LA-poor hosts. Finally, males from LA-rich hosts possess three times as many spermatozoa as those from LA-poor hosts. Hence, females making the right oviposition decisions may increase both the fertility and the sexual attractiveness of their sons.

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Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): cantharidin as precopulatory "enticing" agent.

Cited by 57 publications

References 2 publications

Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): Cantharidin as "nuptial gift".

Chemical basis of courtship in a beetle (Neopyrochroa flabellata): Cantharidin as "nuptial gift".

Quantity matters: male sex pheromone signals mate quality in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis

How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

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