Review paper
Volatile-mediated behavioural preferences in the chemical ecology of dung beetles: a review
Perera, Nisansala N.; Barrow, Russell A.; Weston, Paul A.; Weston, Leslie A.; Gurr, Geoff M.
Entomologia Generalis Volume 45 Number 1 (2025), p. 91 - 103
published: Feb 26, 2025
published online: Feb 9, 2025
manuscript accepted: Oct 8, 2024
final revised version received: Oct 8, 2024
manuscript revision requested: Jun 14, 2024
manuscript received: Apr 5, 2024
DOI: 10.1127/entomologia/2024/2642
ArtNo. ESP146004501006, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Dung beetles are important processors of animal faeces in terrestrial ecosystems and especially in pastoral agriculture. Volatiles emitted from different types of vertebrate dung are diverse and play a crucial role in attraction of dung beetles. A great deal of previous research into dung beetles has focused on their ecosystem services, biology, and ecology. In this review we consider the role of dung volatile organic compound (VOCs) in olfactory ecology of dung beetles. We focus on the main dung volatile organic constituents reported in the literature, their attractiveness and the ecological significance for dung beetle behavioural responses as well as the olfactory apparatus. We report 69 VOCs in total from dung beetle-related studies along with their potential involvement in modifying dung beetle behaviour. Behavioural studies reported here are a combination of laboratory and field-based studies, and we have incorporated information on the antennal sensilla of dung beetles for the first time. We conclude that current knowledge transcends a foundation of fundamental knowledge of the chemical ecology of dung beetles, by offering scope to employ synthetic compounds as baits in trapping systems in which they offer improved efficiency and standardisation in monitoring this important group of ecosystem service providers.
Keywords
Scarabaeoidea • volatile organic compound • antennae • sensilla • semiochemical