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Vespula vulgaris (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) gynes use a sex pheromone to attract males

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2013

Robert L. Brown ,
Ashraf M. El-Sayed ,
David Maxwell Suckling ,
Lloyd D. Stringer  and
Jacqueline R. Beggs
Robert L. Brown*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Ashraf M. El-Sayed
Affiliation:
The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
David Maxwell Suckling
Affiliation:
The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Lloyd D. Stringer
Affiliation:
The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Jacqueline R. Beggs
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: bob3brown@yahoo.com).
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Abstract

Sex attraction studies were carried out to investigate the mate-finding behaviour of invasive Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) wasps. Delta traps were baited with live, caged males, and gynes (virgin queens) of V. vulgaris to determine whether either sex produced a long-range sex attractant. Traps baited with gynes caught 71 males, while the controls and live-male wasp baited traps did not catch gynes. Wind tunnel trials were performed to verify if the signal produced by the gynes was chemical in nature. First, V. vulgaris males were flown to live caged gynes, where more than half of the males tested flew upwind in a zigzagging pattern and made contact with caged gynes. Males were also flown to hexane rinses of gynes and flew upwind in a zigzagging pattern towards the gyne extract, although none made contact with the cotton roll stimulus. The results presented here demonstrate conclusively that V. vulgaris gynes produce a sex pheromone.

Résumé

Des études d'attraction sexuelle ont été réalisées afin d’étudier le comportement de recherche de partenaire chez la guêpe envahissante Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Nous avons appâtés des pièges Delta avec des mâles et des gynes (reines vierges) de V. vulgaris vivants et encagés pour déterminer si l'un ou l'autre des sexes produit une substance d'attraction sexuelle à longue portée. Les pièges appâtés de gynes ont capturé 71 mâles, alors que les pièges témoins et les pièges contenant des guêpes mâles vivantes n'ont attrapé aucune gyne. Des essais en soufflerie aérodynamique ont permis de vérifier si le signal produit par les gynes est de nature chimique. D'abord, nous avons introduit des mâles de V. vulgaris en vol en direction de gynes vivantes encagées: plus de la moitié des mâles se sont dirigés dans le vent en zigzagant et ont fait contact avec les gynes encagées. Nous avons aussi introduit des mâles en vol en direction de rinçages de gynes à l'hexane: les mâles ont volé en zigzagant dans le vent vers l'extrait de gynes, bien qu'aucun n'ait fait contact avec le rouleau de coton servant de stimulus. Nos résultats démontrent de manière décisive que les gynes de V. vulgaris produisent une hormone sexuelle.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 145 , Issue 4 , August 2013 , pp. 389 - 397
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2013 

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