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Methyl 3‐chloro‐4‐methoxybenzoate, a new candidate semiochemical inhibiting copulation behaviour of Ixodes ricinus (L.) males
Author(s) -
Bouman E. A. P.,
Dusbábek F.,
Šimek P.,
Zahradníèková H.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.2003.00343.x
Subject(s) - semiochemical , biology , ixodes ricinus , ricinus , zoology , ethanol , toxicology , sex pheromone , botany , nymph , biochemistry
. Females of Ixodes ricinus (L. 1758) emit several semiochemicals influencing copulatory behaviour in males. One of these candidate compounds, methyl 3‐chloro‐4‐methoxybenzoate, is emitted exclusively by engorged females, and shows a copulation inhibiting effect in males. In Y‐tube experiments, the synthetic analogue of this compound at a concentration of 100 µg/mL in ethanol, attracted males in only 25.6% of tests, whereas it repelled them in 74.4% of cases. However, unengorged females do not respond to this substance at all. The number of contacts between males and unengorged females treated with methyl 3‐chloro‐4‐methoxybenzoate (250 µg/mL in ethanol, 1 µL per female) decreases to 28% compared to a control level of 80%, and the percentage of copulating pairs decreases to 12% compared to control (49%) over 2 h. Possibly, a fertilized engorged female with mature eggs uses this semiochemical to send a signal to males indicating that another copulation is no longer needed.