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Do western boxelder bugs sunbathe for sanitation? Inferences from in vitro experiments
Author(s) -
Schwarz Joseph J.,
Punja Zamir,
Goettel Mark,
Gries Gerhard
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/j.1570-7458.2012.01314.x
Subject(s) - biology , conidium , spore , germination , botany , overwintering , cuticle (hair) , ecology , anatomy
When western boxelder bugs, B oisea rubrolineata ( B arber) ( H emiptera: R hopalidae), form aggregations in warm sunlight, they release from their posterior dorsal abdominal gland an odorous blend of monoterpenes with heretofore unknown biological function. In laboratory analyses and experiments, we show that bugs in warm sunlight, but not in shade, exude and spread copious amounts of monoterpenes onto their cuticle. These monoterpenes do not serve as a pheromone, but rather as a means of sanitation. They inhibit germination of conidia of the fungal pathogen B eauveria bassiana ( B als.‐ C riv.) V uill. ( H ypocreales) as well as halt the growth of germinated spores. This prophylactic defense against pathogens appears adaptive for phytophagous insects, like B . rubrolineata , that are prone to infections by microbes thriving on leaf surfaces and in the insects' overwintering microhabitat.