Pheromone, tergal

In the Madera cockroach, Leucophaea maderae, male calling behavior involves the release of a sex pheromone from the abdominal sternal glands. The extracts of sternal glands attracted conspecific females over a distance and the compounds responsible were identified as hydroxy-3-butan-2-one, (27 , 37 )-butanediol, senecioic acid and ( )-2-octenoic acid. The same components are also present in the male tergal glands. 

Analytical studies of the tergal secretions of male B. germanica have identified a number of volatile compounds, none of which has so far been subjected to behavioral assays on females. Brossut et al. (1975) found p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, o-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, di- and tri-methylnaphthalene, benzothiazole, two isomers of nonyl phenol, and myristic, palmitic, and oleic acids. The fatty acids constituted > 92% of the volatile fraction given their abundance in feces and frass, and their role as putative aggregation pheromones (Wileyto and Boush, 1983 Fuchs et al., 1985 Wendler and Vlatten, 1993 Scherkenbeck et al., 1999),... 

Morphology of the sternal and tergal glands producing the sexual pheromones and the aphrodisiacs among the cockroaches of the subfamily Oxyhaloinae. Journal... 

Nojima S., Kugimiya S., Nishida R., Sakuma M. and Kuwahara Y. (2002) Oligosaccharide composition and pheromonal activity of male tergal gland secretions of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), J. Chem. Ecol. 28, 1483-1494. 

Peschke, K. Defensive and Pheromonal Secretions of the Tergal Gland of Aleochara curtula. II. Release and Inhibition of Male Copulatory Behavior. J. Chem. Ecol. 9, 13-31 (1983). 

Fig. 16.16 Post-flight behavior of Trinervitermes bettonianus. (a) Female calling behavior, showing tergal glands and sternal gland exposed (b) Male following strong pheromone trail of female (c) Tandem run, with male in attennal contact with female (after Leuthold, 1975).

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