The male abdominal glands of Leucophaea maderae: chemical identification of the volatile secretion and sex pheromone function.

In Leucophaea maderae, male calling behavior involves the release of a sex pheromone from the abdominal sternal glands. An extract of sternal glands attracted conspecific females over a distance. The compounds present were identified as hydroxy-3-butan-2-one, (2R, 3R)-butanediol, senecioic acid, and (E)-2-octenoic acid. The same components are also present in male tergal glands. The identified compounds were tested on their own and in mixtures. Their biological function is discussed.