| Author | Fatouros, N.E., Huigens, M.E., van Loon, J.J.A., Dicke, M. & Hilker, M. |
| Year | 2005 |
| Title | Chemical communication: butterfly anti-aphrodisiac lures parasitic wasps |
| Type | Paper |
| Source | Nature 433: 704. |
| Illustrations | Movie on the BugsInThePicture website |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | In the Large White Botterfly (Pieris brassicae), the male passes an anti-aphrodisiac to the female during mating. This presumably reduces the likelihood of a second mating replacing his sperm. Females of the Chalcid wasp, Trichogramma brassicae detect this pheromone and follow it to the mated female. They cling onto the female until she lays eggs which they then parasitise. From the movie it’s quite clear that the butterfly wants none of it! The authors speculate that such mechanisms could constrain the evolution of sexual communication in the hosts. |
| Notes & Purpose | Status | Taxon | English | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Trichogramma brassicae | a chalcid wasp | Animalia: Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae | |
| Current | Pieris brassicae | Large White Butterfly | Animalia: Lepidoptera: Pieridae |
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