SEX ATTRACTANT IN THE MARINE INSECT TROCHOPUS-PLUMBEUS (HETEROPTERA, VELIIDAE) - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

We present evidence of sex-attracting substances produced by males of the marine insect Trochopus plumbeus. This small veliid is widely dist ributed in the Caribbean. Large numbers were found in the mangrove are as of several islands in the Bahamas. Field assays using live insects and extracts demonstrated that females were highly attracted to males and male extracts, but not the opposite. Gas chromatography-mass spect rometry analyses of extracts from both males and females revealed the presence of a series of aldehydes and long-chain aliphatic acids that are insoluble in water, some of which could possibly act as surface-di spersible semiochemicals.