title: Pheromonal communication involved in courtship behavior in Diptera.
abstract: Sex pheromones are known for many dipteran species and play an important role in courtship behavior, together with visual, tactile, acoustic and other factors. Pheromones for a number of dipterans have been recently identified. This survey covers a number of species in all the families that have been studied. The review discusses diverse courtship behaviors in Diptera, with a special focus on the sex pheromones involved. In the Nematocera suborder, pheromones are volatile components, which act at a distance. They are derived from short-chain alkanes with acetoxy groups (Cecidomyidae) or terpenes (Psychodidae). In the Cyclorrhapha, pheromones may be volatile, derived from alkanes (Tephritidae) or terpenes (Agromyzidae), or non-volatile, unsaturated or methyl-branched hydrocarbons, which act by contact (the other subgenera). The behavioral roles and regulation of these pheromones are described, and their importance in species recognition is discussed.
authors: CNRS, NAMC, UMR8620, Bât. 446, Orsay F-91405, France. claude.wicker@u-psud.fr
authors: Claude
authors: C
authors: Wicker-Thomas
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012724:Sex Attractants