Visual and olfactory cues for mate orientation behaviour in male white‐spotted longicorn beetle, Anoplophora malasiaca

Abstract

Olfactory and visual cues were shown to mediate short-distance orientation in Anoplophora malasiaca (Thomson) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). In a laboratory test, more than 80% (n = 42) of males walked straight upward when presented with an untreated surface with a 75 ° slope. When a freshly killed female was fixed at a short distance (10 cm ahead and 5 cm to left/right) from the starting point, 50% of males (n = 30) were oriented toward the female before direct contact. Similar behavioural responses were observed when female extract was directly applied to the slope or to a glass rod model fixed on the slope. When black, white, and transparent coloured rods with the extract were presented, the orientation response was significantly greater for black than to white and transparent rods, to which only a negligible response was observed.

Female orientation to the male in the white-spotted longicorn beetle, Anoplophora malasiaca (Thomson) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) by visual and olfactory cues

“…As we previously reported, male A. malasiaca can orient to females at close range using both olfactory and visual cues derived from females, and the former is essential (Fukaya et al, 2004). In this study, we reveal that the female also locates males 66 M. FUKAYA et al 1.62 log 10 (doseME), white: ln(p/(1Ϫp))ϭϪ1.28ϩ1.62ϫ log 10 (doseME).…”

“…In some cerambycids, evidence of volatile pheromone that acts over short and/or long distances for mate location has been shown (Iwabuchi, 1982(Iwabuchi, , 1985Sakai et al, 1984;Wang et al, 1991;Fauziah et al, 1992;Kim et al, 1992;Zhang et al, 2002). In addition to such olfactory cues, visual orientation is likely to be involved in mate location in some cerambycids (Iwabuchi, 1985;Fukaya et al, 2004). Nevertheless, there have been only a few studies clarifying the importance of visual cues associated with olfactory cues in mate location, even in other insects (Shorey and Gaston, 1970;Hidaka, 1972;Wall, 1989).…”

“…The female white-spotted longicorn beetle Anoplophora malasiaca (Thomson) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) produces a sex pheromone on her body and evokes sequential copulating behaviors in males through direct contact with antennae, palpi, or tarsi (Fukaya et al, 1999(Fukaya et al, , 2000Akino et al, 2001;Fukaya, 2003;Yasui et al, 2003). Recently, we reported that a female volatile chemical mediates short distance mate location in A. malasiaca by males, and that visual stimuli in association with female substances are also involved (Fukaya et al, 2004).…”

Effects of size and color of female models for male mate orientation in the white-spotted longicorn beetle Anoplophora malasiaca (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

“…Such visual cues had been considered to be less important than olfactory cues. Recent studies on Anoplophora malasiaca, however, showed visual stimuli apparently enhanced mate location behavior when synergistically matched with olfactory cues when black, white and transparent glass-rod models were compared (Fukaya et al, 2004a(Fukaya et al, , 2005. Synergistic effects of visual and olfactory cues are also reported in a scarab beetle Holotrichia loochooana loochooana, wherein olfactory cues effect male location of females in the vicinity, and visual cues allow males to land directly on female (Fukaya et al, 2004b).…”

“…In Cerambicidae, it has also been suggested that mate body sizes (e.g. McLain and Boromisa, 1987;Hanks et al, 1996;Fukaya, 2004;Fukaya et al, 2004a), colors (Wang, 2002), shapes (Fukaya and Honda, 1996;Fukaya, 2004) and movement (Iwabuchi, 1985) influence mate location and mating success. Such visual cues had been considered to be less important than olfactory cues.…”