Evidence that Cerambycid Beetles Mimic Vespid Wasps in Odor as well as Appearance

We present evidence that cerambycid species that are supposed mimics of vespid wasps also mimic their model’s odor by producing spiroacetals, common constituents of vespid alarm pheromones. Adults of the North American cerambycids Megacyllene caryae (Gahan) and Megacyllene robiniae (Forster) are con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 2017-01, Vol.43 (1), p.75-83
Main Authors: Mitchell, Robert F., Curkovic, Tomislav, Mongold-Diers, Judith A., Neuteboom, Lara, Galbrecht, Hans-Martin, Tröger, Armin, Bergmann, Jan, Francke, Wittko, Hanks, Lawrence M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetals - analysis
Acetals - metabolism
Agriculture
Animal behavior
Animals
Biochemistry
Biological Microscopy
Biological Mimicry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Coleoptera - metabolism
Ecology
Entomology
Female
Hymenoptera
Insects
Life Sciences
Male
Megacyllene robiniae
Odorants - analysis
Odors
Pheromones - analysis
Pheromones - metabolism
Polistes
Spiro Compounds - analysis
Spiro Compounds - metabolism
Vespula
Wasps - metabolism
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Summary:We present evidence that cerambycid species that are supposed mimics of vespid wasps also mimic their model’s odor by producing spiroacetals, common constituents of vespid alarm pheromones. Adults of the North American cerambycids Megacyllene caryae (Gahan) and Megacyllene robiniae (Forster) are conspicuously patterned yellow and black, and are believed to be mimics of aculeate Hymenoptera, such as species of Vespula and Polistes . Adult males of M. caryae produce an aggregation-sex pheromone, but both sexes produce a pungent odor when handled, which has been assumed to be a defensive response. Headspace aerations of agitated females of M. caryae contained 16 compounds with mass spectra characteristic of spiroacetals of eight distinct chemical structures, with the dominant compound being (7 E ,2 E )-7-ethyl-2-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane. Headspace samples of agitated males of M. caryae contained five of the same components, with the same dominant compound. Females of M. robiniae produced six different spiroacetals, one of which was not produced by M. caryae , (2 E ,7 E )-2-ethyl-7-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane, and five that were shared with M. caryae, including the dominant (2 E ,8 E )-2,8-dimethyl-1,7-dioxaspiro[5.5]undecane. The latter compound is the sole spiroacetal produced by both males and females of a South American cerambycid species, Callisphyris apicicornis (Fairmaire & Germain), which is also thought to be a wasp mimic. Preliminary work also identified spiroacetals of similar or identical structure released by vespid wasps that co-occur with the Megacyllene species.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1007/s10886-016-0800-1