Comparison of the Sex Pheromone Composition of Harmonia axyridis Originating from Native and Invaded Areas

Abstract

The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), originates from South-East Asia and is now considered as an invasive species at a worldwide scale, with populations encountered in North and South America, Africa, and Europe. Several previous studies suggested that invasive populations display different behavioral and physiological traits, leading to a better fitness than native individuals. H. axyridis sex pheromone was identified recently, but only from individuals established in Europe. In this study, we compare the composition of the female sex pheromone of H. axyridis from two populations: (i) an invasive population in North America, and (ii) a native population in South-East China. We found the females originating from both populations to release in similar proportions the same five pheromonal compounds, namely β-caryophyllene, β-elemene, methyl-eugenol, α-humulene, and α-bulnesene. However, females from the North American strain release all five compounds in larger amount than the Chinese ones. Whether invasive individuals were selected during the process of invasion through their capacity to better call and find sexual partners remains to be confirmed.

Mating with dead conspecifics in an invasive ladybird is affected by male sexual fasting and time since the female’s death

“…Existing evidence indicates that the role of cuticular hydrocarbons can be limited in Harmonia axyridis as males are unable to detect differences between mated and unmated females based on cuticular hydrocarbons (Legrand et al, 2019a). Sex pheromones probably play a more important role in Harmonia axyridis (Legrand et al, 2019b), however existing knowledge is surprisingly limited. Potentially limited importance of chemicals for Harmonia axyridis mating behaviour is further supported by this study in which there was no significant difference between new Petri dishes and ones with fresh Effects of female status (alive or dead) and carcass age (1-day or 7-days old carcass) on mating duration in the choice experiment.…”

Optimization and field evaluation of sex‐pheromone of potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

“…Worldwide for the past few years, insect sex pheromones have frequently been developed, such as Adoxophyes honmai (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), 23 Harmonia axyridis (Coleopter: Coccinellidae), 24 Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), 25 Eurytoma maslovskii (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) 26 and D. angustalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) 11 . The study of characteristics of insect sex pheromones provides a new strategy for pest control and a possibility to replace some chemical pesticides 27 .…”