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The Role of Semiochemicals in Short-Range Location of Aggregation Sites in Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae)

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Abstract

To survive unfavorable periods, ladybird beetles form conspicuous aggregations in specific microsites, with these locations remaining the same year after year. This constancy of location leads to the hypothesis that semiochemicals are involved in the attraction and aggregation of ladybirds to the microsite. In this study, we identified two types of semiochemicals that could play key roles in the attraction and aggregation formation of the two-spotted ladybird, Adalia bipunctata. We first isolated and identified three alkylmethoxypyrazines from A. bipunctata and tested the behavioral responses of diapausing ladybirds to these chemicals in a four-way olfactometer. This revealed that 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, on its own or as part of a two-component mixture with 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, elicited a positive behavioral response, causing arrestment of diapausing A. bipunctata. As ladybirds are in contact with each other in aggregations, we investigated the role of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in driving the cohesion and maintenance of aggregation. When an extract of CHCs from diapausing ladybirds was deposited near an alkylmethoxypyrazine source, ladybirds spent more time in the vicinity of the source. We identified a set of CHCs specific to diapausing A. bipunctata. Alkylmethoxyyrazines and CHCs thus deliver information to diapausing ladybirds searching for an aggregation site, as well as mediating several other behaviors throughout the ladybird’s life cycle. Chemical parsimony is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Nathalie Dardenne and Jean-François Garrigues for technical assistance, Christine Ducamp for identifying chemical compounds in the bulk CHC extract, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions. The laboratory “Evolution et Diversité Biologique” (UMR CNRS 5174) is part of the “Laboratory d’Excellence” (LABEX) entitled TULIP (ANR-10-LABX-41). Rothamsted Research receives grant-aided support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the United Kingdom. JLH and MAB benefited from a France-UK collaborative grant (PHC Alliance 19422NG) and FRP from an Erasmus travel grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Toulouse, UMR CNRS/EDB/ENFA “Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique”, 2 route de Narbonne, 31320, Castanet Tolosan, France

    Eline C. Susset, Felipe Ramon-Portugal, Jean-Louis Hemptinne & Alexandra Magro

  2. Department of Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK

    Sarah Y. Dewhirst & Michael A. Birkett

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  1. Eline C. Susset
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  2. Felipe Ramon-Portugal
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  3. Jean-Louis Hemptinne
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  6. Alexandra Magro
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Correspondence to Eline C. Susset.

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Susset, E.C., Ramon-Portugal, F., Hemptinne, JL. et al. The Role of Semiochemicals in Short-Range Location of Aggregation Sites in Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae). J Chem Ecol 39, 591–601 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-013-0285-0

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