Oscillatoria Sp. (Cyanophyta) mat metabolites implicated in habitat selection inBembidion obtusidens (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

In laboratory bioassaysBembidion obtusidens Fall adults were attracted to volatile metabolites (methyl esters of hexadecanoic and 9-octadecenoic acid) of mat-forming, filamentous blue-green algae (Oscilalatoria sp.; Cyanophyta) growing in the microhabitat of these beetles on the shores of saline lakes. Commercial preparations of these metabolites also were attractive, suggesting thatOscillatoria metabolites are token stimuli which serve as habitat cues forBembidion adults.