A comparative study on male marking pheromones in the digger wasp genus Cerceris (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)
In general, insects heavily rely on chemical communication for mate finding. Therefore, species-specific sex pheromones play a major role in species recognition and discrimination. In the digger wasp subfamily Philanthinae, males of various taxa are known to be territorial and to scent-mark their territories. The scent-marking is achieved by applying the secretion of a cephalic gland on the surface of these territories. At least some constituents of these secretions additionally act as sex pheromones and attract females to the marked territory for mating.
The primary aim of this study is to identify the components in the cephalic glands of various species in the genus Cerceris. We will compare the blends of species within the genus Cerceris and with the already described blends for Philanthus, Trachypus and Eucerceris.
Additionally, we will try to map the constituents of the blends onto a molecular phylogeny to check for phylogenetic effects. Likewise different compositions in CHCs due to prey specificity of female Cerceris wasps, which hunt specifically either Hymenoptera or Coleoptera, may also be found in male blends and could influence species-specific sex recognition.
With this approach, we want to access species- and genera-specific key differences and similarities in the pheromonal compositions and draw conclusions on their evolutionary history.
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