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Host Specific Social Parasites (Psithyrus) Indicate Chemical Recognition System in Bumblebees

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Abstract

Semiochemicals influence many aspects of insect behavior, including interactions between parasites and their hosts. We studied the chemical recognition system of bumblebees (Bombus) by examining the cuticular hydrocarbon cues of 14 species, including five species of social parasites, known as cuckoo bees (subgenus Psithyrus). We found that bumblebees possess species-specific alkene positional isomer profiles that are stable over large geographical regions and are mimicked by three host-specific cuckoo parasites. In three host-cuckoo associations where mimicry is poor, possibly due to recent host shifts, these cuckoos produce dodecyl acetate a known chemical repellent that allows the cuckoos to invade their host colonies. Our findings indicate cuckoos use two chemical mechanisms, mimicry and repellents, to invade their hosts, and this may reflect different stages of an ongoing dynamic arms race.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks go to Matthew Heard of CEH Wallingford, Dave Goulson of Stirling University, and Maggie Frankum of Leicester for providing additional Psithyrus queens. Also, thanks to Roger Butlin, Paul Brakefield, and Duncan Jackson of Sheffield University for detailed comments, in addition to the helpful comments by two anonymous referees. Funding was provided by NERC (NE/C512310/1 and NE/F018355/1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Stephen J. Martin & Jonathan M. Carruthers

  2. Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Paul H. Williams

  3. Chemical Ecology Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Lennard-Jones Laboratory, Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG, UK

    Falko P. Drijfhout

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  1. Stephen J. Martin
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Correspondence to Stephen J. Martin.

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Supplemental figure 1

The proportion of n-alkanes extracted from the wing and Dufour’s gland samples for each species of bumblebee. The top two graphs are for the non-parasitic Bombus species, while the bottom two inverted graphs shows the data for the corresponding Psithyrus-cuckoo species. The arrows indicate alternative hosts. The error bars represent one SD. (PPT 81 kb)

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Martin, S.J., Carruthers, J.M., Williams, P.H. et al. Host Specific Social Parasites (Psithyrus) Indicate Chemical Recognition System in Bumblebees. J Chem Ecol 36, 855–863 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9805-3

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