摘要：

Cuticular hydrocarbons play a significant role in the regulation of cuticular permeability and also in the chemical communication of insects. In the parasitoid Lariophagus distinguendus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), male courtship behavior is mediated by a female-produced sex pheromone. Previous studies have shown that the chemicals involved are already present in the pupal stage of both males and females. However, pheromonal activity in males decreases shortly after emergence. This pheromonal deactivation occurs only in living males, suggesting an active process rather than simple evaporation of bioactive compounds. Here, we present evidence that the sex pheromone of L. distinguendus is composed of a series of cuticular hydrocarbons. Filter paper disks treated with nonpolar fractions of cuticular extracts of freshly emerged males and females, 72-hr-old females, and yellowish pupae caused arrestment and stimulated key elements of cou

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