Food Security Department, Natural Resources Institute, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK.
Presented are early findings and future proposals for the analysis of the pheromone-mediated behaviour of Dermestes maculatus, one of the most important insect pest species of dried fish. It is anticipated that results may lead to the use of pheromones in control strategies. Both male and female pheromones appear to influence the distribution behaviour of D. maculatus. Initial experiments have shown that both male and female insects were significantly attracted to hexane washes of opposite and same-sexed conspecifics. The results confirm previous observations of male behaviour. However, female attraction to external washes of other females has not been recorded before. Future plans include analysing the precise behaviour of the insects in the presence of single and multiple sources of pheromone by videoing insect movements in an arena. Analysis will be completed using Ethovision (Noldus Information Technology 1998). Ethovision will allow easy quantification of various parameters of movement that will enable a broader description of the pheromone-mediated behaviour of this insect, beyond simple preference testing.