Studies on the sex pheromone of the shore crab,Carcinus maenas, with special regard to ecdysone excretion

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Abstract
Shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) were submitted to new bioassay procedures, and ecdysone excretion was measured by RIA technique to answer the question, whether the common moulting hormone of arthropods acts as a sex attractant in this species. The results indicate that juvenile and adult shore crabs excrete ecdysones during the entire moulting cycle. An adult pre-moult female excreted batches of ca. 8 ng ecdysones at a 3.75 h frequency. Artificial ecdysone solutions did not show any pheromonal activity. The unknown pheromone is probably excreted rhythmically by pre-moult females via the antennal glands. Its action range proved to be no longer than 10–20 cm. The pheromone shows interspecific action between Carcinus maenas and Macropipus depurator.