Search

Carrion beetles (Coleoptera, Silphidae) are well known for their behaviour of exploiting vertebrate carcasses for nutrition. While species in the subfamily Silphinae feed on large carcasses and on larvae of competing scavengers, the Nicrophorinae are unique in monopolizing, burying and defending small carrion, and providing extensive biparental care. As a first step towards investigating whether microbial symbionts may aid in carcass utilization or defence, we characterized the microbial hindgut communities of six Nicrophorinae (Nicrophorus spp.) and two Silphinae species (Oiceoptoma noveboracense and Necrophila americana) by deep ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. Across all species, bacteria in the family Xanthomonadaceae, related to Ignatzschineriao larvae, were consistently common, and several other taxa were present in lower abundance (Enterobacteriales, Burkholderiales, Bacilli, Clostridiales and Bacteroidales). Additionally, the Nicrophorinae showed high numbers of unusual Clostridiales, while the Silphinae were characterized by Flavobacteriales and Rhizobiales (Bartonella sp.). In addition to the complex community of bacterial symbionts, each species of carrion beetle harboured a diversity of ascomycetous yeasts closely related to Yarrowia lipolytica. Despite the high degree of consistency in microbial communities across the Silphidae-specifically within the Nicrophorinae-both the fungal symbiont phylogeny and distance-based bacterial community clustering showed higher congruence with sampling locality than host phylogeny. Thus, despite the possibility for vertical transmission via anal secretions, the distinct hindgut microbiota of the Silphidae appears to be shaped by frequent horizontal exchange or environmental uptake of symbionts. The microbial community profiles, together with information on host ecology and the metabolic potential of related microorganisms, allow us to propose hypotheses on putative roles of the symbionts in carcass degradation, detoxification and defence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males over previous mates. However, how do females recognise previous mates, particularly in the face of cognitive constraints? Female crickets appear to have evolved a simple but effective solution: females imbue males with their own cuticular hydrocarbons ( CHCs) at mating and utilise chemosensory self-referencing to recognise recent mates. Female CHC profiles exhibited significant additive genetic variation, demonstrating that genetically unique chemical cues are available to support chemosensory self-referencing. CHC profiles of males became more similar to those of females after mating, indicating physical transfer of CHCs between individuals during copulation. Experimental perfuming of males with female CHCs resulted in a female aversion to males bearing chemical cues similar to their own. Chemosensory self-referencing, therefore, could be a widespread mechanism by which females increase the diversity of their mating partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necrophagous burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides reproduces on small carcasses that are buried underground to serve as food for their offspring. Cadavers that are too large to bury have previously been postulated to be important food sources for newly emerged beetles; however, the attractiveness of distinct successive stages of decomposition were not further specified. Therefore, we investigated the potential preference of newly emerged N. vespilloides females for odour bouquets of piglet cadavers at specific stages of decomposition. Analyses of walking tracks on a Kramer sphere revealed a significantly higher mean walking speed and, consequently, a higher mean total track length when beetles were confronted with odour plumes of the decomposition stages ‘post-bloating’, ‘advanced decay’ or ‘dry remains’ in comparison with the solvent control. Such a change of the walking speed of newly emerged N. vespilloides females indicates a higher motivation to locate such food sources. In contrast to less discriminating individuals this behaviour provides the advantage of not wasting time at unsuitable food sources. Furthermore, in the advanced decay stage, we registered a significantly higher preference of beetles for upwind directions to its specific odour plume when compared with the solvent control. Such a change to upwind walking behaviour increases the likelihood that a large cadaver will be quickly located. Our findings are of general importance for applied forensic entomology: newly emerged N. vespilloides females on large cadavers can and should be regarded as potential indicators of prolonged post mortem intervals as our results clearly show that they prefer emitted odour bouquets of later decomposition stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]