Staci Cibotti, Nathaniel McCartney, Rudolf J Schilder, Jared G Ali
{"title":"Neonicotinoid Insecticides can Enhance Milkweed Vigor and Subsequently Impact Monarch Performance.","authors":"Staci Cibotti, Nathaniel McCartney, Rudolf J Schilder, Jared G Ali","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01565-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01565-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Milkweed plants in agricultural landscapes throughout the United States and southern Canada are believed to be vitally important for the imperiled monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations. However, studies have found that these plants often assimilate a slew of pesticides from the surrounding landscape, including highly potent and widely applied neonicotinoid insecticides. This has prompted concern over the potential impacts of these compounds on monarch populations and has created a growing interest in determining the direct lethal and sublethal consequences of exposure. Fewer studies have considered how neonicotinoids may interact with milkweed defensive chemistry to indirectly influence monarch performance. Here we addressed this question by investigating whether uptake of a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, clothianidin, could alter milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) defense responses and subsequently impact monarch growth and feeding. We found that clothianidin-treated milkweed plants grew taller, and produced monarch larvae that weighed more and consumed more leaf tissue than larvae feeding on control plants. After five days of monarch herbivory, clothianidin-treated plants had higher levels of the phytohormone, jasmonic acid, but similar levels of salicylic acid relative to control plants. Neither latex nor cardenolide production was impacted by clothianidin assimilation. Overall, these findings indicate that clothianidin exposure can improve the vitality of common milkweed plants, and may subsequently impact monarch performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"20"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143189279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Entomo-Toxicological Effect Of Dichlorvos on Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles of Some Sarco-Saprophagous Insects for Forensic Applications.","authors":"Ani Nweze Michael, Ikem Chris Okoye","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01558-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01558-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Forensic entomology has relied on species-specificity, quantitative and qualitative variations of cuticular hydrocarbons to successfully carry out chemotaxonomic identification of insects based on species, age and gender. This work studied the effects of dichlorvos on the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of some adult sarco-saprophagous insects of forensic importance that fed on dichlorvos-poisoned carrions for utility during death investigations. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) were extracted from adult insects of the species Chrysomya albiceps, Sarcophaga exuberans, Musca domestica, Hermetia illucens, Dermestes maculatus and Necrobia rufipes from both dichlorvos-poisoned and control pig (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) carrions and subjected to chemotaxonomic profiling using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 41 CHCs were successfully identified from insects of both the dichlorvos-poisoned and control carrions ranging from C8 to C33 carbons consisting of majorly the n-alkanes, methyl branched alkanes and an alkene. There was a higher abundance of CHCs present in the insects of dichlorvos-poisoned carrions than the control group. The highest mean peak concentration and abundance of the CHCs was recorded by 2,6,10,14 -Tetramethyl Pentadecane (10.38 ± 0.53 μg/mg for dichlorvos-poisoned carrions and 8.99 ± 1.13 μg/mg for the control carrions). The visualization of the species-specific differences in CHCs compositions showed less overlapping CHCs clusters and quantitative metrics of principal component analysis plots of the insects from both carrion groups with high eigenvalues > 3 which were indications of good species level discrimination. The study showed that insects' CHCs profiles of dichlorvos-poisoned and control carrions exhibited uniqueness cum variations in terms of abundance and chemical identity.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bridget Bobadoye, Beatrice T Nganso, Charles Stuhl, Baldwyn Torto, Ayuka T Fombong
{"title":"Chemical Ecology and Management of the Small Hive Beetle, Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae).","authors":"Bridget Bobadoye, Beatrice T Nganso, Charles Stuhl, Baldwyn Torto, Ayuka T Fombong","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01556-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01556-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Over the last 28 years, the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), a colony pest of wild and managed honey bees (Apis mellifera), and native to sub-Saharan Africa, has been recorded as an invasive and damaging pest of diverse bee species, especially managed honeybee colonies in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. It poses an indirect threat to pollination services and global food security. Efforts to manage the beetle has yielded no permanent solution. However, several studies demonstrate that the small hive beetle uses various sensory cues to locate hosts including chemical and visual cues in the visible wavelength. Here, we review the chemical ecology of the beetle and discuss implications for its future management.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"16"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jean Carlos Dos Santos Lima, Elivelto da Silva Cavalcante, Cristiano Ramos Gonçalves, Sidnei Eduardo Lima-Junior, Claudia Andrea Lima Cardoso, William Fernando Antonialli-Junior
{"title":"Effect of Seasonal Variation on the Cuticular Chemical Composition of Atta laevigata (Smith 1858) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).","authors":"Jean Carlos Dos Santos Lima, Elivelto da Silva Cavalcante, Cristiano Ramos Gonçalves, Sidnei Eduardo Lima-Junior, Claudia Andrea Lima Cardoso, William Fernando Antonialli-Junior","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01559-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01559-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) constitute an important class of chemical compounds present in the cuticular layer of insects, where their main functions are to prevent desiccation of the cuticle and as signals for intraspecific recognition. Studies concerning CHCs have shown a phenotypic flexibility of their composition, depending on environmental factors. However, the way that each of these factors influences this variation remains little explored. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of environmental variations on the cuticular chemical composition of the ant Atta laevigata. Workers from four different colonies nesting in forest edge environments were collected over the course of a year, during the hot and humid and cold and dry seasons. The cuticular compounds were extracted and then analyzed by gas chromatography, revealing that the compounds of this species belonged to the classes of linear alkanes, mono, di and trimethyl alkanes, alkenes and alkadienes. Furthermore, the cuticular profile varied significantly among colonies of this species and between seasons, while intra-season variability was more significant during the hot and humid season. The observed temporal variation indicated that the numbers of compounds and the proportion of different types of CHC can vary according to the period of the year, however with a greater significant variation in colonies in the hot and humid season. These results showed that variations in environmental conditions, especially climate, can have decisive effects in the dynamics of cuticular chemistry.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143065863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nils Schöfer, Nathalie Saxinger, Katrin Braumandl, Joachim Ruther
{"title":"Four Neurotoxic Insecticides Impair Partner and Host Finding in the Parasitoid Leptopilina heterotoma and Bioactive Doses Can Be Taken up Via the Host.","authors":"Nils Schöfer, Nathalie Saxinger, Katrin Braumandl, Joachim Ruther","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01554-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-025-01554-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In modern agriculture, control of insect pests is achieved by using insecticides that can also have lethal and sublethal effects on beneficial non-target organisms. Here, we investigate acute toxicity and sublethal effects of four insecticides on the males' sex pheromone response and the female host finding ability of the Drosophila parasitoid Leptopilina heterotoma. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists acetamiprid, flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor, as well as the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor dimethoate were applied topically as acetone solutions. Males treated with all four insecticides no longer preferred the female sex pheromone in a T-olfactometer. Duration of wing fanning, an element of the pheromone-mediated male courtship behavior, was also reduced by all four insecticides. The ability of females to orientate towards host-infested feeding substrate was not affected by acetamiprid in the tested dose range. However, treatment with dimethoate, flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor resulted in the loss of the females' preference for host odor. At the lowest doses interfering with olfactory abilities of L. heterotoma in this study (acetamiprid: 0.21 ng, dimethoate: 0.105 ng, flupyradifurone: 2.1 ng and sulfoxaflor: 0.21 ng), ≥ 90% of the wasps survive insecticide treatment. Male pheromone responses and female host finding were also disturbed in those L. heterotoma that had developed in D. melanogaster larvae reared on dimethoate-treated feeding medium at sublethal levels. Hence, doses of this insecticide sufficient to interfere with chemical orientation of L. heterotoma can be taken up by the parasitoid via the food chain.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"14"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11779754/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143065864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anna Laura Erdei, Maria Sousa, Francisco Gonzalez, Marie Bengtsson, Peter Witzgall
{"title":"Host Plant Odour and Sex Pheromone are Integral to Mate Finding in Codling Moth.","authors":"Anna Laura Erdei, Maria Sousa, Francisco Gonzalez, Marie Bengtsson, Peter Witzgall","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01568-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-025-01568-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The great diversity of specialist plant-feeding insects suggests that host plant shifts may initiate speciation, even without geographic barriers. Pheromones and kairomones mediate sexual communication and host choice, and the response to these behaviour-modifying chemicals is under sexual and natural selection, respectively. The concept that the interaction of mate signals and habitat cues facilitates reproductive isolation and ecological speciation is well established, while the traits and the underlying sensory mechanisms remain unknown. The larva of codling moth feeds in apple and other rosaceous fruits. We show for the first time that the response of male moths to female sex pheromone codlemone relies upon presence of pear ester, a kairomone emitted by host fruit. In the non-host tree birch, attraction to pheromone alone is very strongly reduced, but is fully rescued by blending pheromone with kairomone. This affords a mechanism how host plant shifts shape new mate-finding signals that can give rise to assortative mating and reproductive isolation.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11772392/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143046474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Perla Achi, Preston Christensen, Victoria Iglesias, Cullen McCarthy, Robert Pena, Lanie Bavier, Connor Goldy, Anurag A Agrawal, Simon C Groen, Adler R Dillman
{"title":"Entomopathogenic Nematode Species Vary in Their Behavior and Virulence in Response to Cardiac Glycosides Within and Around Insect Hosts.","authors":"Perla Achi, Preston Christensen, Victoria Iglesias, Cullen McCarthy, Robert Pena, Lanie Bavier, Connor Goldy, Anurag A Agrawal, Simon C Groen, Adler R Dillman","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01563-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-025-01563-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plants produce defensive toxins to deter herbivores. In response, some specialized herbivores evolved resistance and even the capacity to sequester toxins, affecting interactions at higher trophic levels. Here, we test the hypothesis that potential natural enemies of specialized herbivores are differentially affected by plant toxins depending on their level of adaptation to the plant-herbivore system. We focus on toxic cardiac glycosides (CGs) from milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), which inhibit animal Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup>-ATPases, and two CG-resistant insects, the large milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus and a CRISPR-edited Drosophila melanogaster. Both have CG-resistant Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup>-ATPases through a set of key amino acid substitutions, which facilitate CG sequestration. We conducted infection experiments with entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae, S. feltiae, and S. hermaphroditum) as natural enemies on host insects containing mixtures of milkweed-derived CGs or purified CGs (ouabain, digoxin, and digitoxin) that vary in toxicity. The nematode S. carpocapsae is known to occur in soil near milkweed plants and naturally has several of the same Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup>-ATPase substitutions as the milkweed bug O. fasciatus and our Drosophila mutant. This nematode not only exhibited higher fecundity in hosts that carried CGs relative to the other nematode species (which have sensitive Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup>-ATPases), but also showed attraction to mixtures of CGs in milkweed root extracts and to purified ouabain when tested on agar plates. A coiling phenotype, which is a symptom of neurotoxicity, was observed more frequently in S. feltiae and S. hermaphroditum upon exposure to milkweed root extracts than in S. carpocapsae. Nematode behavior was further tested in sand, and while attraction to CGs was found for S. carpocapsae, nematodes of the other species tended to migrate away from milkweed root chemicals. Thus, S. carpocapsae can tolerate CGs and may use these as chemical cues to locate insect hosts that live on or around milkweed plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11772503/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143046285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M C Blassioli-Moraes, A Khrimian, M F F Michereff, D M Magalhães, J V M Costa, E R Hickel, J A Barrigossi, R A Laumann, S D Guggilapu, J Grazia, M Borges
{"title":"Shared Pheromone Compounds in Neotropical Rice Stink Bugs: The Role of Zingiberenol and Sesquipiperitol.","authors":"M C Blassioli-Moraes, A Khrimian, M F F Michereff, D M Magalhães, J V M Costa, E R Hickel, J A Barrigossi, R A Laumann, S D Guggilapu, J Grazia, M Borges","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01551-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01551-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The small black stem bug, Paratibraca (= Glyphepomis) spinosa (Campos and Grazia 1998), is a rice pest in Brazil and is part of a complex of stink bugs that includes Oebalus poecilus (Dallas) and Tibraca limbativentris Stål. Together, these pentatomid species pose a serious threat to rice crops throughout South America. In this study, we identified the sex pheromone of P. spinosa. Our findings revealed that male P. spinosa produces four male-specific compounds identical to those produced by T. limbativentris males. These include (3S,6S,7R)-1,10-bisaboladien-3-ol and (3R,6S,7R)-1,10-bisaboladien-3-ol (zingiberenols), both sharing the same absolute configuration as the 1,10-bisaboladien-3-ol from T. limbativentris; along with two minor male-specific components: the cis and trans isomers of 2,10-bisaboladien-1-ol (sesquipiperitol). Y-tube olfactometer bioassays demonstrated that P. spinosa females were attracted to the odours of live males, whereas males showed no attraction to either sex. Females were particularly drawn to male volatiles, especially the fraction containing the compounds 1,10-bisaboladien-3-ol and 2,10-bisaboladien-1-ol. When tested with synthetic compounds, females were attracted to a blend of the two isomers, (3S,6S,7R)-1,10-bisaboladien-3-ol and (3R,6S,7R)-1,10-bisaboladien-3-ol, in the same ratio as naturally produced by males. Given that the sex pheromone compounds identified in P. spinosa are identical to those of T. limbativentris, we conducted bioassays with live heterospecific insects. In olfactometer bioassays, the females of both species were attracted by the odours of heteroespecific males.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143039023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Proteomic Variation in the Oral Secretion of Spodoptera exigua and Spodoptera littoralis Larvae in Response to Different food Sources.","authors":"Elena García-Marín, Jordi Gamir, Cristina M Crava","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01571-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-025-01571-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Spodoptera genus is defined as the pest-rich genus because it contains some of the most destructive lepidopteran crop pests, characterized by a wide host range. During feeding, the caterpillars release small amounts of oral secretion (OS) onto the wounded leaves. This secretion contains herbivore-induced molecular patterns (HAMPs) that activate the plant defense response, as well as effectors that may inhibit or diminish the plant's anti-herbivory response. In this study, we explored the protein components of the OS of two Spodoptera species, Spodoptera exigua and Spodoptera littoralis. We identified 336 and 276 proteins, respectively, with a major role in digestion. Using a label-free quantitative proteomics approach, we investigated changes in protein abundance in the OS of both species after switching from a laboratory artificial diet to detached pepper and tomato leaves. Several proteins, such as various lipases, polycalin and a β-1,3-glucan binding protein, were more abundant in the OS of leaf-fed larvae in both species. Conversely, a tryptophan-aspartic acid (WD)-repeat containing protein significantly decreased upon feeding on plant leaves in both species. Phenotypic plasticity dependent on each Spodoptera-plant combination was observed for several peptidases, potentially related to the need to overcome the effects of proteinase inhibitors differentially produced by the two plant species, and for several REPAT proteins, possibly related to the specific modulation of each Spodoptera-plant interaction. Altogether, our results provide useful information for understanding the interaction of these two polyphagous Spodoptera species with the host plants, and help to identify evolutionary traits that may influence the outcome of herbivory in each of these two related species.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11762215/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143032161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Manasa Kulkarni, Jyothilakshmi Vadassery, Renee M Borges
{"title":"Host Manipulations Within Mutualisms: Role of Plant Hormones in Selective Resource Allocation.","authors":"Manasa Kulkarni, Jyothilakshmi Vadassery, Renee M Borges","doi":"10.1007/s10886-025-01573-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01573-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In some mutualisms involving host plants, photoassimilates are provided as rewards to symbionts. Endophagous organisms often manipulate host plants to increase access to photoassimilates. Host manipulations by endophagous organisms that are also mutualists are poorly understood. We show host plant manipulations by symbionts and the role of phytohormones, i.e. the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and the cytokinin trans-zeatin (tZ), in the brood-site pollination mutualism between fig trees and pollinator fig wasps. In this interaction, pollinator wasps pollinate Ficus flowers within an enclosed inflorescence called a syconium, in exchange for flowers that develop into galls nourishing pollinator offspring. To examine host manipulation by pollinator galls by affecting host fitness through seed reduction, we compared growth hormones released by syconial occupants within three experimentally produced treatment groups of syconia: S (containing only seeds), G (containing only pollinator galls) and SG (containing seeds and pollinator galls). We harvested syconia from each treatment in early and mid-phases of syconial maturation when maximal growth occurs and measured hormone levels. Hormones were reduced by mid-phase in general; however, their levels were mostly sustained in G syconia in the mid-phase, suggesting that galls manipulate the host to continuously access resources. We found no difference in IAA and tZ levels of S and G syconia. IAA concentrations were higher in SG syconia. From the perspective of the maintenance of mutualism, syconium volume and hormone concentrations were highest when both seeds and galls were present (SG treatment), indicating that both partners control allocation of resources to syconia.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143033335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}