Evidence for the Existence of A Sex Pheromone in 2 Species of Ixodid Ticks (Metastigmata: Ixodidae)1

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Abstract
Chemical and biological evidence for the existence of a sex pheromone in the ticks Dermacentor variabilis (Say) and Dermacentor andersoni (Stiles) is reported. Sexually active males responded to hexane or pentane extracts of homogenates, rinses or emissions captured on Porapak® from partially fed females. Gas chromatographic fractionation of the active extracts resulted in the loss of activity as determined by the male bioassay. The method of bioassay allowed all phases of mating behavior to be expressed by the sexually active males in response to the extracts. Female sex-attractant activity was associated with feeding. Unfed females and females attached less than 0.5 days in D. variabilis and less than 1 day in D. andersoni failed to attract males. Female attractant activity diminished after engorgement. Males detached earlier if feeding females were present near the males than if they were absent. Males responded to feeding females even when separated by barriers. The males exhibited orientation responses when they approached within 2 cm of the females. Sex attractant activity persisted in previously frozen (−70°C) or chilled (1°C) females when they were thawed, but it diminished rapidly when the females were killed at room temperature. Interspecific and intergeneric sex attractant activity was observed, involving D. variabilis, D. andersoni and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille). Experimental evidence that suggests an association between the female foveae dorsales and the source of sex pheromone emission is reported.

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