2-Hydroxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde : the female sex pheromone of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae (Astigmata : Pyroglyphidae)

Kenji TATAMI; Naoki MORI; Ritsuo NISHIDA; Yasumasa KUWAHARA

doi:10.7601/mez.52.279

Kenji TATAMI, Naoki MORI, Ritsuo NISHIDA, Yasumasa KUWAHARA

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Keywords: house dust mite, Dermatophagoides farinae, female sex pheromone, 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2001 Volume 52 Issue 4 Pages 279-286

DOI https://doi.org/10.7601/mez.52.279

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Abstract

The female sex pheromone of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae was identified as 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde (HMB). Sexual activity was induced by exposing 5-50 ng doses of synthetic HMB, while its content was estimated to be 6.47±0.69 ng per female and 0.77±0.30 ng per male. We concluded that the apparent response of males only towards females is attributed to ca. 8.4-fold difference in the HMB content between both sexes.

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