Mating and adult feeding behaviour influence pheromone production in female Asian longhorn beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Abstract

The Asian longhorn beetle (ALB) Anoplophora glabripennis Motschulsky is a destructive invasive species worldwide. Female ALB produce a pheromone component, α-longipinene, in the genitalia. However, the origin and factors, such as age, mating, adult feeding and host plant, influencing the production of this compound are unclear.2 Our results showed that virgin female ALB consistently produced α-longipinene at various ages after feeding for several days post eclosion, but unfed adult females never produced this compound. Mating significantly reduced the amount of α-longipinene in female genitalia. 3 α-Longipinene was the most dominant compound in the volatiles emitted by females, but not in those emitted by males or host twigs (Acer pensylvanicum L.). The proportion of α-longipinene among the beetle-released sesquiterpenes that were known to be male antennally active was significantly greater than that emitted by ALB damaged, mechanically damaged or control twigs. 4 These results suggest that ALB females probably derive α-longipinene or a precursor from hosts via adult feeding, and release it at a significantly different ratio from that found in host volatiles. The various ratios of α-longipinene produced by beetles and host twigs may encode information pertaining to multiple purposes such as aggregation, mate and host location.

Preventing invasions of Asian longhorn beetle and citrus longhorn beetle: are we on the right track?

“…Xu et al (2020a) showed that α-longipinene is a major component in extracts of virgin ALB female genitalia and that in olfactometer bioassays, both sexes were attracted to this sesquiterpene. Although α-longipinene is also released by males and host twigs, the authors suggest that the ratios released by these different sources may encode information pertaining to multiple purposes such as aggregation, mate and host location, and that identification of the naturally produced enantiomer in ALB and its hosts is also needed (Xu et al 2020b).…”

Hybridization Potential of Two Invasive Asian Longhorn Beetles

“…After copulation a pair-bond can last hours [29]. Copulation can significantly reduce the mating receptivity of females, which simultaneously occurs with a reduction of pheromone production [29,34,40].…”

“…Some of those volatile pheromone components in both species are sesquiterpenes originally obtained from the host plants and excreted by the beetles that likely play multiple roles in host location, aggregation, or mate location [32,34,36,38,41,42]. Since adult feeding is a prerequisite to pheromone production and ALB and A. chinensis (or A. malasiaca) share some same host plants [31,33], host plants could directly contribute to the amount or ratio of pheromone components [31,40]. Multiple studies have also demonstrated an overlap of chemosensory receptors between ALB and A. chinensis and a considerable semi-chemical conservation between these species [44][45][46][47].…”

Olfactory responses of the blister beetle Epicauta atomaria, a polyphagous crop pest, to host, non‐host, and conspecific odors

“…Our results do not necessarily imply that E. atomaria lacks volatile pheromones, as biotic and/or abiotic factors in the laboratory could have affected the pheromones production and/or the behavioral responses of the insects to them (Howse et al., 1998). In fact, it is known that in beetles, abiotic (e.g., temperature, humidity, light, and airflow) and biotic (e.g., age, mating and nutritional status, and circadian rhythm) factors strongly influence the levels of pheromone production, and the motivation of the insects to respond to odors from conspecifics (Edde et al., 2007; Hock et al., 2014; Levi‐Zada & Byers, 2021; Lextrait et al., 1995; Ruiz‐Montiel et al., 2009; Tinzaara et al., 2011; Xu et al., 2021).…”