The female sex pheromone of the staphylinid beetle, Aleochara curtula

The grasping reaction with the parameres towards the female was used as the criterion of male sexual behaviour in Aleochara curtula. Visual, gustatory, and mechanical stimuli were excluded as triggers in releasing the reaction. Extracting the females with acetone, or covering the females with wax resin eliminated the male response. The grasping reaction was shown towards models contaminated with hexane extracts of females, whereas extracts of males were ineffective, as was the pure solvent. 0.5 female equivalents appears to give the optimal response. This is the first record of female sex pheromones acting as an aphrodisiac in the Staphylinidae.The pheromone is spread over the entire surface of the body, and the trapping of the pheromone by the epicuticular waxes is discussed. The evaporation of the pheromone from freshly-killed females is slow by comparison with that from extracts. A reduction of the free surface area of pheromone-bearing models causes a reduction in the response by the males.