title: Reproductive character displacement in Lymantria monacha from northern Japan?
abstract: Our objective was to test the hypothesis that the pheromone blend and/or diel periodicity of pheromonal communication differ in populations of the nun moth, Lymantria monacha (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), from eastern Asia (northern Honshu, Japan) and Central Europe (Bohemia, Czech Republic). Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of pheromone gland extract of female L. monacha from Japan confirmed the presence of compounds previously identified in pheromone extracts of L. monacha from Bohemia, as follows: (Z)-7-octadecene, 2-methyl-(Z)-7-octadecene (2me-Z7-18Hy), cis-7,8-epoxy-octadecane (monachalure), and cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane (disparlure). Field experiments in Honshu suggested that (+)-monachalure is the major pheromone component of L. monacha. 2me-Z7-18Hy significantly enhanced attractiveness of (+)-monachalure. Addition of (+)-disparlure to (+)-monachalure plus 2me-Z7-18Hy in Honshu and Bohemia increased attractiveness of lures by 1.2 and 20 times, respectively, indicating that (+)-disparlure is of least and most significance in the respective L. monacha populations. Moreover, capture of male L. monacha in pheromone-baited traps between 18:00 and 24:00 hr in Bohemia and 2:00 and 5:00 hr in Honshu revealed a markedly different diel periodicity of pheromonal communication. Pheromonal communication late at night and use of (+)-monachalure, rather than (+)-disparlure, as the major pheromone component by L. monacha in Honshu may have resulted from interspecific competition with coseasonal L. fumida, which uses the early night for pheromonal communication and (+)-disparlure as major pheromone component. Whether communication channel divergence of L. monacha in Honshu indeed constitutes a case of reproductive character displacement is difficult to prove. The evolution of such divergence in sympatric populations of L. fumida and L. monacha would have to be demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gries
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gries
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liska
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gotoh
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D002633:Chemotaxis; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009036:Moths / Q000502:physiology*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012724:Sex Attractants