ABSTRACT The Australian redback spider, Latrodectus hasseltii preys on at least 10 endemic species in New Zealand, highlighting a need for control. Male redbacks are attracted to virgin females by an airborne pheromone. The aim of this study was to analyse the response of male redback spiders to two volatile chemicals found on the silk of virgin but not mated females, to determine whether these compounds constitute components of the airborne pheromone. Mature male redback spiders were placed in an olfactometer where they had a choice of two stimuli. We compared their response to paired combinations of a control, virgin silk, butyric acid and isovaleric acid. Male redbacks responded equally strongly to butyric acid and virgin silk, in terms of time spent near the stimulus. The identification of butyric acid as a component of the airborne sex pheromone of L. hasseltii provides the groundwork for developing a pheromone-based control.

中文翻译：

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研究侵入性澳大利亚红背蜘蛛 Latrodectus hasseltii 的两种新的假定信息素成分，具有控制的潜在应用

摘要 澳大利亚红背蜘蛛 Latrodectus hasseltii 在新西兰捕食至少 10 种地方性物种，这凸显了控制的必要性。雄性红背会被空气中的信息素吸引到处女雌性身上。本研究的目的是分析雄性红背蜘蛛对处女而非交配雌性蛛丝上发现的两种挥发性化学物质的反应，以确定这些化合物是否构成空气信息素的成分。成熟的雄性红背蜘蛛被放置在嗅觉计中，在那里它们可以选择两种刺激。我们比较了它们对对照、原生蚕丝、丁酸和异戊酸的配对组合的反应。就在刺激附近花费的时间而言，雄性红背对丁酸和处女丝的反应同样强烈。