Calling behavior of the cerambycid beetle Neoclytus acuminatus acuminatus (F.)

Males of the cerambycid beetle Neoclytus acuminatus acuminatus (F.) assume a body posture, never displayed by females, that appears to be associated with release of an aggregation pheromone: they periodically stop walking and fully extend their front legs, elevating their head and thorax above the substrate. In this article, we demonstrate that this body posture, the "pushup stance," coincides with release of pheromone and that it serves to elevate pheromone glands above the substrate. We also use a pheromone proxy system (sublimation of naphthalene) to demonstrate that the pushup stance increases rates of pheromone dissemination. The pushup stance provides a convenient indictor for studying the role of pheromones in reproductive behavior and facilitating collection of pheromone in the laboratory.