Sex Pheromone in the Lobster, Homarus americanus

Abstract

SEXUAL recognition and attraction in many insects have been shown to involve chemical communicants called pheromones¹, and these results are widely applied in agriculture². In contrast very little is known about (sex) pheromones in crustaceans, the only experimental verification being that of Ryan³ who observed that males of the Pacific crab, Portunus sanguinolentus, displayed towards water from premoult females. No response was obtained after the excretory pores of the females had been sealed. A few other publications on crustacean behaviour and natural history suggest such a chemical communication system. Berry⁴ observed in Panulirus homarus that “male lobsters show sudden attraction to particular sexually mature females” and speculated that the tegumentary glands may be involved. Hughes and Matthiessen⁵ stated that “it appears as if the freshly moulted female (Homarus americanus) exerts a chemical attraction on the male”. Some other indications for the existence of a sex pheromonecan be found⁶ without experimental evidence, however. This lack of experimental evidence, even in reports on crustacean mating behaviour⁷, is remarkable considering the economic importance of such Crustacea as lobsters and shrimp and the benefits for culturing these animals, if a sex pheromone were known and available.