and start attacking other ants. Another caused increased anger in the ants. When the ingredients were mixed together, they first attracted the ants, then repelled them in a high state of aggression.
In one species of firefly, scientist have found that the females seduce males from a closely related species to steal their predator-repelling toxins (Anonymous, 1997). Fireflies court by exchanging flashes in patterns which are unique to each species, but researchers have found that females of the genus Photuris can lure and eat males of the species Photinus by faking the signals of the female of that species. The level of predator-repelling chemicals in the blood of Photinus fireflies is about three times as much as that in Photuris fireflies, These chemicals, known as lucibufages, allow the female Photuris to repel the predatory gray jumping spider when male Photinus are fed to them in the laboratory. Female Photuris in the laboratory who have not devoured Photinus males are eaten by these spiders.
Some male ants are able to avoid fights with other male ants by emitting a female ant smell (Whitfield, 2002). Male tropical Cardiocondylia obscurior ants can be winged or wingless. The wingless males never leave the nest, and fight to the death until only one survives. Meanwhile, they daub each other with a chemical that attracts worker ants, which do not mate, to attack them. Winged males leave the nest after a week or two, and copy the chemical of virgin queens to avoid these fights. However, this leads to wingless ants trying to mount them before they fly off and leave the nest. It is unusual to find sexual mimicry within a species. Some spiders and parasitic insects attract prey by emitting female odors which attract would-be suitors to their death.
Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata ladybird pupa secrete a substance which deters the predatory Crematogaster lineolata ants, native to the beetleÆs new range in...