Effect of Time of Day and Temperature on Sex Pheromone Production and Perception by the Rust-red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) PDF

Keywords

pheromone, females, Tribolium castaneum

Abstract

Sex pheromone production by virgin females of T. castaneum (Herbst) was greatly affected by the time of the day. It started at low concentration in the early morning and then increased until it reached its maximum at 1500 hr. It decreased again in the late afternoon and reached its lowest titer at night. Male responsiveness to sex pheromone extracts followed almost a similar trend, with a maximum response between 1300 and 1500 hr. Sex pheromone production also varied at the different temperature at which the beetles were kept. Temperatures between 30 and 40°C appeared optimum for sex pheromone production. None of the temperatures tested (15-40°C) inhibited pheromone production.