Mating behavior and chemical communication in the order hymenoptera

Insects of the order Hymenoptera are biologically and economically important members of natural and agro ecosystems and exhibit diverse biologies, mating systems, and sex pheromones. We review what is known of their sex pheromone chemistry and function, paying particular emphasis to the Hymenoptera Aculeata (primarily ants, bees, and sphecid and vespid wasps), and provide a framework for the functional classification of their sex pheromones. Sex pheromones often comprise multicomponent blends derived from numerous exocrine tissues, including the cuticle. However, very few sex pheromones have been definitively characterized using bioassays, in part because of the behavioral sophistication of many Aculeata. The relative importance of species isolation versus sexual selection in shaping sex pheromone evolution is still unclear. Many species appear to discriminate among mates at the level of individual or kin/colony, and they use antiaphrodisiacs. Some orchids use hymenopteran sex pheromones to dupe males into performing pseudocopulation, with extreme species specificity.

Insect faunas associated with Pinus sylvestris L. from the mid-Holocene of the Humberhead Levels, Yorkshire, U.K

This paper presents the results of recent palaeoentomological research carried out in the Humberhead Levels, South Yorkshire, UK, including the discovery of fossils of five species of beetle previously unknown in the British Isles. The significance of these and other Urwaldrelikt species is discussed in relation to the fragmentation of forest habitats, particularly those associated with Pinus sylvestris L. The Holocene history of this tree and its associated taxa is examined. The importance of fire habitats and the dependence of some pinicolous taxa on these habitats suggests that the decline of fire ecosystems may have had some impact on the changing biogeography of some species.