Bifunctional Pheromone in the First Instar of the Southern Green Stink Bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatornidae): Its Characterization and Interaction with Other Stimuli

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In first instar Nezara viridula (L.), olfactory and visual cues cause attraction, while visual and tactile cues are responsible for arrestment. A whole-body extract of 10−2 individual equivalents was attractive; at higher concentrations of 10° and 101 individual equivalents, the extract was repellent and probably functioned in the dispersal of the aggregation. Using chemical, behavioral, and developmental data, n-tridecane was identified as a bifunctional pheromone of first instar N. viridula; it was the primary component in whole-body extracts and the only volatile found in air extracts. Olfactometry with n-tridecane indicated that a 5 ೗ 10−5 μl dose was attractive while doses ≥0.5 μl were repellent. The emerging nymphs do not possess this pheromone and do not reaggregate if separated; the initial nymphal aggregation is maintained by tactile stimuli. As the nymphs develop during the first 2 days, the amount of n-tridecane rises with a concommitant increase in the ability to reaggregate. From day 2 until molt to the second instar on day 5, the amount of pheromone and the index of aggregation does not change significantly.