Bolas spiders use aggressive mimicry to attract moth prey by mimicking the pheromone blends used by their victims. The bronzed cutworm, Nephelodes minians, is the largest prey species for the bolas spider, Mastophora hutchinsoni. We used gas chromatography linked with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) to identify compounds emitted by female bronzed cutworm moths. We conducted field trapping experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of blends of these compounds in capturing males. A blend of Z-11-hexadecenal and Z-11-hexadecenyl acetate was effective in trapping males. These compounds are different from the compounds previously identified as sex pheromones of two other prey species of the same bolas spider.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Noctuidae Nephelodes minians (bronzed cutworm)
Species 2: Araneae Araneidae Mastophora hutchinsoni (bolas spider)
Keywords: allomone, pheromone identification
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