Electroantennogram and Behavioral Responses of Drone Hornets to Synthetic Sex Pheromones of Vespa velutina nigrithorax under Laboratory Conditions
2024
Hong, D.E. | Bisrat, D. | Jung, C.E.
Vespa velutina nigrithorax, a subspecies of the yellow-legged hornet native to southern China, has invaded several other parts of the world in recent decades. It has become a devastating predator of honey bees, particularly in Korea and Europe. Sex pheromones, namely 4-oxooctanoic acid (4-OOA) and 4-oxo-decanoic acid (4-ODA) were reported from the queen of V. velutina in China. In this study, we investigated the responses of drone hornets to synthetic sex pheromones of V. velutina nigrithorax using electroantennogram (EAG) and Y-tube olfactometer methods under laboratory conditions. EAG experiments revealed that drone hornets showed a significantly stronger response to the pheromone, unlike worker hornets. Further analysis of drones aged 0-15 days showed a positive correlation between age and response, indicating increasing sexual maturity as the day elapsed. These results were further confirmed by Y-tube olfactometer experiments, showing that drone hornets significantly preferred the queen’s sex pheromones over the workers, and behavioral preference showed a positive correlation with age. This study clearly demonstrated that drone hornets exhibited strong responses to synthetic sex pheromones of V. velutina nigrithorax in both EAG and Y-tube olfactometer tests. In conclusion, synthetic pheromones (4-OOA and 4-ODA) could be instrumental in monitoring and controlling V. velutina nigrithorax populations in Korea. However, field trials are necessary to validate the laboratory findings.
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