Photoperiodic regulation of mating behaviour in the linden bug,Pyrrhocoris apterus, is mediated by a brain inhibitory factor

Abstract

Active inhibition of mating behaviour in a male insect is reported here for the first time. InPyrrhocoris apterus L. (Heteroptera), the most important inhibitory pathway runs from the pars intercerebralis (PI) of the brain and does not pass through the corpora allata. The inhibitory activity of the PI is promoted by short day conditions and suppressed by long days. As the effect of photoperiod is delayed, transfer procedures enabled us to record daily rhythms in mating behaviour during short days. While the extirpation of the PI results in a discrete phase shift of the long day rhythm, there is a much less significant phase shift after this operation during short days. Thus the PI has been shown to mediate the effect of photoperiod on both the inhibition and the rhythm of mating behaviour.