Chemical mimicry

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The great spider ragwort mimics pheromones of its pollinators and thereby attracts them.

Chemical mimicry describes a variant of mimicry that causes the olfactory perception of a signal recipient to be deceived by a “fake” chemical signal. In very general terms, this form of mimicry is characterized by an organism (the imitator) that imitates chemical substances from another organism (the model) that are perceived by a third organism (the recipient ) as a signal of interest, with the result that the imitator increases his fitness because the recipient identifies him as a copy of the model.

Research results (selection)

According to Konrad Dettner , this strategy can appear in at least seven variants:

Hunting bolaspiders can release attractants that resemble the pheromones found in female butterflies.
Example: Hoverflies of the genus Microdon often live in ants' burrows. The larvae of Microdon albicomatus and Microdon piperi are obligatory predators that feed on the brood of their host ants, but are carried around by the workers of the ants like their own offspring. Chemical analyzes of the cuticle of albicomatus larvae and pupae of the host ant Myrmica incompleta showed that the hydrocarbon profile was so similar between ants and hoverflies that the behavior of the ants was interpreted as a consequence of this similarity. Similar findings have been for Microdon piperi and their host, the carpenter ant Camponotus modoc , collected and also confirmed in other species.
Example: Female individuals of various wasp bee species of the genus Nomada invade the nests of certain species of the sand bee genus Andrena as kleptoparasites without being attacked by the usually very aggressive sand bees. It has been proven that it is their smell that protects the intruders from possible attacks. According to a study published in 1975, the chemical composition of the secretions from the mandibular gland of Nomada males is similar to the secretions from the Dufour's gland of Andrena females, which use the latter to line their nesting chamber. During the mating flight , the nomada females are sprayed with their mandibular gland secretions by the males of their species, which means that they take on the smell of their host females. As a common substance was calcined at Andrena haemorrhoa and Andrena carantonica as well as their Nomada- parasites all-trans-farnesyl- caproic acid (all-trans-farnesyl hexanoate) identified in Andrena clark ella , Andrena helvola and their Nomada- parasites was geranyl caprylic acid ( geranyl octanoate).
  • Exploitation of mutualism between ants and other organisms
Example: The larvae of in Florida domestic lacewing Ceraeochrysa cincta to be attacked by chemical signals from ants avoided. These larvae feed on whiteflies ( Metaleurodicus griseus ), which live in symbiosis (see honeydew ) with ants. In order not to be noticed by the ants or by predators, the larvae pack wax from the surface of their prey on their back and thus take on the smell and even the appearance of their prey. The ants are the recipients of this signal forgery.
Example: Bolaspiders catch small butterflies with the help of a ball of slime that hangs on a thread and is thrown against the prey. For several species it has been proven that the spiders release an attractant that resembles the pheromones of female butterflies, so that the prey animals approach a supposed female of their species, but actually come within range of the eponymous "throwing weapon" (a bola ).
Example: An insect imitates chemical signals that are directly related to their reproduction . Sexually active male specimens of the short-winged Aleochara curtula are extremely aggressive towards one another when they are on a larger carcass and feed on blowfly larvae . This feeding place is also an opportunity for sexual intercourse with a female. Especially very young males, but also very hungry older males and those males who have already copulated several times, release fragrances (Z7-Heneicosen and Z7-Tricosen) that resemble the attractant pheromones of females of their kind; in this way they avoid intraspecific attacks.
  • chemical interactions between plants and insects
Example: Orchids have long been known for their petals mimicking the shape of insects ( Peckham's mimicry ). In a review in 1990 it was reported that several dozen species of orchid also use the smell as a lure for pollinating insects. Substances were identified that mimic female or male insect pheromones and thus attract male or female insects. However, attractants were also identified that - aimed at carrion-eating insects - imitate the smell of decaying meat.
Example: The so-called Müllerian mimicry was first described using the example of butterflies which - coming from different species or genera - have almost identical warning colors . Similar developments have also been described for “warning chemicals”. For example, the substance 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine was identified .

literature

  • Carolina Liepert: Chemical mimicry in aphid parasitoids of the genus Lysiphlebus (Hymenoptera, Aphidiidae). Bayreuth Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystem Research (BITÖK), series: Bayreuther Forum Ökologie, No. 39, pp. 1–180, Bayreuth 1996, abstract .
  • Nicolas J. Vereecken and Jeremy N. McNeil: Cheaters and liars: chemical mimicry at its finest. In: Canadian Journal of Zoology. Volume 88, No. 7, 2010, pp. 725-752, doi: 10.1139 / Z10-040 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Irwin Vane-Wright: On the definition of mimicry. In: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 13, No. 1, 1980, p. 4, doi: 10.1111 / j.1095-8312.1980.tb00066.x .
  2. ^ Konrad Dettner and Caroline Liepert: Chemical Mimicry and Camouflage. In: Annual Review of Entomology. Volume 39, 1994, pp. 129-154, doi: 10.1146 / annurev.en.39.010194.001021 .
  3. ↑ Ralph W. Howard, Roger D. Akre, William B. Garnett: Chemical Mimicry in an Obligate Predator of Carpenter Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In: Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Volume 83, No. 3, 1990, pp. 607-616, doi: 10.1093 / aesa / 83.3.607 .
  4. ^ William B. Garnett, Roger D. Akre and Gerald Sehlke: Cocoon Mimicry and Predation by Myrmecophilous Diptera (Diptera: Syrphidae). In: The Florida Entomologist. Volume 68, No. 4, 1985, pp. 615-621, doi: 10.2307 / 3494863 .
  5. ↑ T. Akino, JJ Knapp, JA Thomas and GW Elmes: Chemical mimicry and host specificity in the butterfly Maculinea rebeli, a social parasite of Myrmica ant colonies. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Volume 266, No. 1427, 1999, doi: 10.1098 / rspb.1999.0796 .
  6. ↑ Jan Tengö and Gunnar Bergström: All-trans-farnesyl hexanoate and geranyl octanoate in the dufour gland secretion of Andrem (Hymenoptera: Apidae). In: Journal of Chemical Ecology. Volume 1, No. 2, 1975, pp. 253-268, doi: 10.1007 / BF00987874 .
  7. ^ RT Mason, HM Fales, M. Eisner and T. Eisner: Wax of a whitefly and its utilization by a chrysopid larva. In: Natural Sciences. Volume 78, No. 1, 1991, pp. 28-30, doi: 10.1007 / BF01134039 .
  8. ↑ Thomas Eisner, Karen Hicks, Maria Eisner and Douglas S. Robson: "Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing" Strategy of a Predaceous Insect Larva. In: Science . Volume 199, No. 4330, 1978, pp. 790-794, doi: 10.1126 / science.199.4330.790 .
  9. ↑ KF Haynes, C. Gemeno, KV Yeargan, JG Millar and KM Johnson: Aggressive chemical mimicry of moth pheromones by a bolas spider: how does this specialist predator attract more than one species of prey? In: Chemoecology. Volume 12, No. 2, 2002, pp. 99-105, doi: 10.1007 / s00049-002-8332-2 .
  10. ^ William G. Eberhard: Aggressive Chemical Mimicry by a Bolas Spider. In: Science. Volume 198, No. 4322, 1977, pp. 1173-1175, doi: 10.1126 / science.198.4322.1173 .
  11. ↑ Mark K. Stowe, James H. Tumlinson, and Robert R. Heath: Chemical Mimicry: Bolas Spiders Emit Components of Moth Prey Species Sex Pheromones. In: Science. Volume 236, No. 4804, 1987, pp. 964-967, doi: 10.1126 / science.236.4804.964 .
  12. ^ Klaus Peschke: Chemical Traits in Sexual Selection of the Rove Beetle, Aleochara curtula (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). In: Entomologia Generalis. Volume 15, No. 2, 1990, pp. 127-132, doi: 10.1127 / entom.gen / 15/1990/127 .
  13. ↑ Konrad Dettner: Defensive secretions and exocrine glands in free-living staphylinid bettles — their bearing on phylogeny (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). In: Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. Volume 21, No. 1, 1993, pp. 143-162, doi: 10.1016 / 0305-1978 (93) 90020-R .
  14. ↑ Anna-KarinBorg-Karlson: Chemical and ethological studies of pollination in the genus Ophrys (orchidaceae). In: Phytochemistry. Vol 29, No. 5, 1990, pp. 1359-1387, doi: 10.1016 / 0031-9422 (90) 80086-V .
  15. ↑ David C. Robacker, Bastiaan JD Meeuse and Eric H. Erickson: Floral Aroma: How Far Will Plants Go to Attract Pollinators? In: BioScience. Volume 38, No. 6, 1988, pp. 390-398, doi: 10.2307 / 1310925 .
  16. ↑ Thomas Eisner, Randall P. Grant: Toxicity, odor aversion, and "olfactory aposematism". In: Science. Volume 213, No. 4506, 1981, p. 476, doi: 10.1126 / science.7244647
  17. ↑ Tim Guildford et al .: The biological roles of pyrazines: evidence for a warning odor function. In: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 31, No. 2, 1987, pp. 113-128, doi: 10.1111 / j.1095-8312.1987.tb01984.x .
  18. ↑ Barry P. Moore, W. Vance Brown and Miriam Rothschild: Methylalkylpyrazines in aposematic insects, their hostplants and mimics. In: Chemoecology. Volume 1, No. 2, 1990, pp. 43-51, doi: 10.1007 / BF01325227 .