title: Cuticular Hydrocarbon Cues Are Used for Host Acceptance by Pseudacteon spp. Phorid Flies that Attack Azteca sericeasur Ants.
abstract: Parasitoids often use complex cues to identify suitable hosts in their environment. Phorid fly parasitoids that develop on one or a few host species often use multiple cues, ranging from general to highly specific, to home in on an appropriate host. Here, we describe the hierarchy of cues that Pseudacteon phorid flies use to identify Azteca ant hosts. We show, through behavioral observations in the field, that phorid flies are attracted to two cryptic Azteca species, but only attack Azteca sericeasur (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae). To test whether the phorid flies use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to distinguish between the two Azteca taxa, we first documented and compared cuticular hydrocarbons of the two Azteca taxa using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Then, using cuticular hydrocarbon-transfer experiments with live ants, we characterized the cuticular hydrocarbons of A. sericeasur as a short-range, host location cue used by P. lasciniosus (Diptera: Phoridae) to locate the ants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 1041 East Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. kmathis@email.arizona.edu.|Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94702-3114, USA. kmathis@email.arizona.edu.
authors.forename: Kaitlyn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Mathis
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94702-3114, USA.
authors.forename: Neil D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001681:Biological Assay; D003463:Cues; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons
keywords: Azteca ants; Coffee agroecosystem; Cuticular hydrocarbons; Host acceptance; Host location; Parasitoids; Pseudacteon phorid flies