# SENDING OUT PHEROMONES



## antjoss (Sep 12, 2006)

I was wondering about female mantids sending out pheromones. One of may pair of Ghost where mated at the weekend after I noticed the female bending back and pulsing her abdomen. I thought the coupling went ok, but she's still sending out those pheromones every morning. Is this a sign of a failed mate or somthing they always do to attract as many males as possible? What do people think?


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## Rick (Sep 12, 2006)

Mantids abdomens always pulse. This might be some behavior particular to ghosts as I have never seen any behavior that would suggest the female is sending out pheremones. If they mated then don't worry about it. To be sure mate them again.


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## antjoss (Sep 12, 2006)

My discription of of the ghost female behaviour wasn't great. Every morning the tip of the females abdomen points down away from the wings exposing patches on the top while the abdomen throbs regularly. I'm sure she's always sending out some sort of chemical signature but this behaviour is more obvious and unlike the ordinary sort of abdomen movement.


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## julian camilo (Sep 12, 2006)

your description sounds like that of a female about to lay an ootheca. it might be this, she might be getting ready for it. i have seen females do this too, though i dont know why for sure.


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## Rob Byatt (Sep 12, 2006)

The pheromone glands of mantids, as far as I am aware, are situated dorsally on the abdomen i.e. under the elytra (this may not be true of all species).

The behaviour described here does sugggest to me that she is exposing the glands to allow air to pass over them. I have seen this on many occasions but mainly with the more cryptic species. Clearly pheromenes are going to play a more active role in mate attraction in cryptic species than in non-cryptic species.

Further to this, most successful pairings of mantids that I have bred have occured either at dawn or at dusk. This gives more substance to the theory that she is releasing pheromones.

Rob.


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## julian camilo (Sep 12, 2006)

in theory it does sound like she might be, but would she still be doing so directly after mating? most times ive seen matings, once its done, mating again seems to be the last thing on the females mind, so why would she try to attract another mate? maybe it wasnt a successful mating i guess.


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## jplelito (Sep 12, 2006)

What you have seen sounds a lot like the pheromone release posture noted for Acanthops falcata, which almost always does this only at dawn.

Males of that species only fly at the point as well, and seek out females between the time when bats and birds are out hunting them.

During my fieldwork on Tenodera I noticed that in the late afternoon on hazy days a lot of female Tenodera very fat with eggs would climb high onto goldenrod stems and assume this position with their dorsal abdomen exposed to the air. Usually on those days in the evening you would then see a lof of mated pairs. I'd have to get out my notebook but I'm pretty sure that a great majority of matings happen in the wild (for Tenodera) right around the same time, when all the females are 'calling.'

It sounds to me like your ghost is doing the same thing. See if you can take some pictures, and take note of between which segments (in terms of number) those patches of different tissue you see are located.


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