IBBEA   24401
INSTITUTO DE BIODIVERSIDAD Y BIOLOGIA EXPERIMENTAL Y APLICADA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Female odors promote the activation of sheltered kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus males and modulate their orientation
Autor/es:
GINA BARCELOS PONTES; CLAUDIA A. ZACHARIAS; GABRIEL MANRIQUE; MARCELO G LORENZO
Revista:
MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2014 vol. 28 p. 257 - 263
ISSN:
0269-283X
Resumen:
The existence of a pheromone emitted during copulation has been reported for Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) St ˚ al. Adults possess one pair of metasternal glands (MGs) from which female R. prolixus release volatiles mainly at night. We i nvestigated whether these volatiles emitted by adult R. prolixus can modulate s exual-related behaviours of opposite and/or same sex i ndividuals. We first used a s helter bioassay t o t est i f adult activity patterns can be affected by chemical signals emitted by opposite sex conspecifics. We observed that males l eft t he shelter more frequently in the presence of females, showing higher activity and an increase of intrasexual copulation attempts. Females showed no shelter-related activation i n the presence of male odours. Second, we used a l ocomotion compensator device to investigate whether females or males show oriented responses to odours emitted by adults. We f ound that males oriented towards air currents carrying f emale odours but females did not orient towards odours emitted by adults. Finally, we observed that males oriented towards t he female MG compounds. Thus, a volatile chemical signal emitted by f emales from their M Gs promoted the activation of s heltered m ales and modulated orientation t o air currents.