Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650223, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Oct 11;7(1):12956. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-13509-7.
The Asian hornet, Vespa velutina, is an invasive, globally-distributed predator of European honey bees and other insects. To better under its reproductive biology and to find a specific, effective, and low-impact control method for this species, we identified and tested the key compounds in V. velutina sex pheromone. Virgin gynes (reproductive females) produced this sex pheromone in the sixth intersegmental sternal glands of their abdomens. The active compounds were 4-oxo-octanoic acid (4-OOA, 10.4 μg bee) and 4-oxo-decanoic acid (4-ODA, 13.3 μg bee) at a 0.78 ratio of 4-OOA/4-ODA. We synthesized these compounds and showed that male antennae were highly sensitive to them. Moreover, males were only strongly attracted to a 4-OOA/4-ODA blend at the natural ratio produced by gynes. These results provide the first demonstration of an effective way to lure V. velutina males, and the first chemical identification of a sex pheromone in the eusocial hornets.
亚洲大黄蜂，Vespa velutina，是一种具有入侵性的、分布于全球的欧洲蜜蜂和其他昆虫的捕食者。为了更好地了解其生殖生物学，并为该物种找到一种特定、有效且低影响的控制方法，我们鉴定并测试了亚洲大黄蜂性信息素中的关键化合物。处女蜂王（生殖性雌性）在其腹部第六节间胸板上产生这种性信息素。活性化合物为 4-氧代辛酸（4-OOA，每只蜜蜂 10.4μg）和 4-氧代癸酸（4-ODA，每只蜜蜂 13.3μg），两者的比例为 4-OOA/4-ODA=0.78。我们合成了这些化合物，并表明雄蜂触角对它们非常敏感。此外，只有当雄蜂触角接收到由处女蜂王产生的、比例为自然状态的 4-OOA/4-ODA 混合物时，才会被强烈吸引。这些结果首次证明了一种有效诱捕亚洲大黄蜂雄蜂的方法，也是首次在社会性胡蜂中鉴定出性信息素。
