Kojima Wataru, Ishikawa Yukio, Takanashi Takuma
Commun Integr Biol. 2012 May 1;5(3):262-4. doi: 10.4161/cib.19886.
Pupae of some insects produce sounds or vibrations, but the function of the sounds/vibrations has not been clarified in most cases. Recently, we found vibratory communication between pupae and larvae of a group-living beetle Trypoxylus dichotoma, which live in humus soil. The vibratory signals produced by pupae were shown to deter approaching larvae, thereby protecting themselves. In the present study, we tested our hypothesis that pupal signals are mimics of vibratory noises associated with foraging of moles, the most common predators of T. dichotoma. Mole vibrations played back in laboratory experiments deterred larval approaches in the same way as pupal signals. These findings suggest that to deter conspecific larvae, pupae of T. dichotoma may have exploited a preexisting response of larvae to predator vibrations by emitting deceptive signals.
一些昆虫的蛹会发出声音或振动，但在大多数情况下，这些声音/振动的功能尚未得到阐明。最近，我们发现了一种群居甲虫双叉犀金龟的蛹和幼虫之间的振动交流，它们生活在腐殖土中。蛹产生的振动信号被证明可以阻止接近的幼虫，从而保护自己。在本研究中，我们检验了我们的假设，即蛹的信号是模仿与鼹鼠觅食相关的振动噪音，鼹鼠是双叉犀金龟最常见的捕食者。在实验室实验中回放的鼹鼠振动与蛹的信号一样，阻止了幼虫的靠近。这些发现表明，为了阻止同种幼虫，双叉犀金龟的蛹可能通过发出欺骗性信号，利用了幼虫对捕食者振动的预先存在的反应。
