Responses of the convergent ladybird beetle (Hippodamia convergens) to conspecific odor

The Convergent Ladybird Beetle (Hippodamia convergens), an important biological control species of aphids and mites, migrates from agricultural fields to overwinter in mountain-top aggregations that recur in hibernacula traditional in location, despite turnover in migrants. It has been suggested that the permanence of these hibernacula are due to the ability of H. convergens to orient towards pheromone cues from conspecifics. Preference for conspecific odor is identified in individuals and groups through a series of choice bioassays. Combined analyses of directional preferences as well as the locomotory maneuvers exhibited by the beetles indicate orientation mechanisms likely responsible for the localization of diapausing conspecifics in field populations of migratory H. convergens.