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Published online: 29 July 2009 | doi:10.1038/nchina.2009.153

Chemical ecology: Spider's secret blend of love

Felix Cheung

Introduction

© (2009) istockphoto.com/James Benet

Chemical signalling plays an important role in sexual communication, but the sexual chemistry of spiders remains a largely unexplored realm of science. Shuqiang Li and co-workers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing¹ have conducted a study on the spider Pholcus beijingensis (pictured) and identified the principal components of its sex pheromone.

P. beijingensis is a type of 'daddy long-leg' spider that lives in caves near Beijing. The species spins untidy webs in corners or on walls at cave entrances. During the breeding season, sexually receptive females also coat their webs with sex pheromones to attract nearby males.

The researchers captured P. beijingensis spiders at the entrance of a cave and examined the courtship behaviour of the spiders. They then separated the females into two subgroups — those that are sexually receptive and those that are not. They found that empty webs spun by sexually receptive females were more attractive to mate-searching males than webs spun by sexually unreceptive females or other males.

Chemical analysis revealed that webs spun by sexually receptive females had relatively high abundances of farnesyl and hexadecyl acetate. Behavioural studies showed that a blend of these two compounds at a ratio of 2:1 aroused male spiders, whereas the compounds individually had no effect.

The researchers suggest that the sex pheromone of P. beijingensis consists of these two compounds, farnesyl and hexadecyl acetate. If their hypothesis is correct, it will be the first multi-component sex pheromone ever found in spiders.

The authors of this work are from:
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China..

Reference

1. Xiao, Y., Zhang, J. & Li, S. A two-component female-produced pheromone of the spider Pholcus beijingensis. J. Chem. Ecol. doi:10.1007/s10886-009-9660-2 (2009). | Article |