Response of male Centruroides vittatus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) to aerial and substrate-borne chemical signals

Abstract

Chemical signaling promotes mate location throughout numerous animal taxa. In this study we investigated the possibility that striped scorpions, Centruroides vittatus, use chemical signaling in the form of odor plumes or substrate-borne deposits as communication channels. A Y-shaped arena was constructed to test scorpions' use of airborne chemical cues in the detection of potential mates. A second, circular behavioral choice chamber was used to test male scorpions' responses to female deposits by direct substrate contact. Male scorpions showed no tendency to move toward the female in tests of airborne chemical transmission but they did demonstrate behavior associated with chemical detection when exposed to substrate-borne feminine deposits. Our experiments do not provide evidence that male C. vittatus use aerial pheromones to locate female scorpions but that they are highly sensitive to direct contact of substrate-borne chemical deposits.

Friend or foe: behavioral responses to conspecifics in the northern scorpion, Paruroctonus boreus (Scorpionida: Vaejovidae)

“…We suggest their change in behavior was elicited by contact pheromones on the substrate, not volatile pheromones, because males did not alter their behavior until they were positioned directly over areas females had previously occupied. This is consistent with previous findings that scorpions do not respond to volatile pheromones (Benton 1992;Brownell 1992, 2001;Steinmetz et al 2004). Theoretically, through sexual selection, males may use female pheromones and increase the number of encounters with females by directing their movements once they come in contact with the pheromones, as demonstrated by Gaffin and Brownell (2001).…”

“…Gaffin and Brownell (1992) and Melville et al (2003) found that males responded positively to areas exposed to female conspecifics in Paruroctonus mesaensis (Scorpionida, Vaejovida) and Hadrurus arizonensis (Scorpionida, Iuridae), respectively. Males did not, however, demonstrate such a preference in a third study with Centruroides vittatus (Scorpionida, Buthidae) but Steinmetz et al (2004) suggested that males changed their behavior in areas previously exposed to female conspecifics. Melville et al (2003), in the only study to date to examine behavioral responses of males to conspecific males, found a non-significant preference for areas exposed to conspecific males.…”

“…Previous studies of chemical communication by scorpions have focused on responses of individuals to conspecifics from the same populations, and the results have been inconsistent among scorpion families Brownell 1992, 2001;Melville et al 2003;Steinmetz et al 2004). Gaffin and Brownell (1992) and Melville et al (2003) found that males responded positively to areas exposed to female conspecifics in Paruroctonus mesaensis (Scorpionida, Vaejovida) and Hadrurus arizonensis (Scorpionida, Iuridae), respectively.…”

Effect of the mating plug on female chemical attractiveness and mating acceptance in a scorpion

“…Polis and Sissom (1990) suggested that the use of pheromones in the recognition and detection of potential partners is crucial for the mating success of many scorpion species. Numerous works have tested the detection of contact pheromones in scorpions (e.g., Benton, 1992;Gaffin & Brownell, 1992Melville et al, 2003;Miller & Formanowicz, 2011;Steinmetz et al, 2004;Taylor et al, 2012). Conversely, only a few studies have analyzed the use of volatile chemical signals in scorpions.…”

“…Scorpions have a pair of sexually dimorphic mechanosensory and chemosensory appendages, the pectines (Gaffin & Brownell, 1997;Kladt, Wolf, & Heinzel, 2007;Polis & Sissom, 1990;Stahnke, 1973), which seem to mediate chemically mediated orientation behaviors such as substrate scanning before and during mating (Gaffin & Brownell, 1992;Mineo & Del Claro, 2006;Tallarovic, Melville, & Brownell, 2000). Studies in several species of scorpions show that they can use chemical signaling to find potential mates and begin courtship (Gaffin & Brownell, 1992Melville, Tallarovic, & Brownell, 2003;Steinmetz, Bost, & Gaffin, 2004;Taylor, Cosper, & Gaffin, 2012). In many scorpion species, males transfer a mating plug after sperm transfer and this plug may be of different types and effectiveness (Peretti, 2010).…”