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Olfaction with legs-Spiders use wall-pore sensilla for pheromone detection
Mohammad Belal Talukder1, Carsten H G Müller1, Dan-Dan Zhang1,2
1General and Systematic Zoology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Greifswald 17489, Germany.
Summary
Male orb-weaving spiders possess specialized leg sensilla for detecting female sex pheromones. This discovery enhances our understanding of spider olfaction and sensory evolution in arthropods.
Area of Science:
- Arthropod sensory biology
- Evolution of olfaction
- Spider chemoreception
Background:
- Olfaction is crucial for terrestrial species, yet poorly understood in spiders.
- The orb-weaving spider *Argiope bruennichi* offers a model for studying olfaction due to its known sex pheromone.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the olfactory capabilities of male *Argiope bruennichi* spiders.
- To identify and characterize the sensory structures involved in pheromone detection.
- To explore the evolutionary history of these structures within spiders.
Main Methods:
- Ultrastructural analysis of leg sensilla in male *Argiope bruennichi*.
- Electrophysiological recordings from individual sensilla.
- Comparative morphological analysis across 19 spider species from 16 families.
Main Results:
- Abundant, previously overlooked sensilla with wall pores were found on male *A. bruennichi* walking legs.
- These wall-pore sensilla exhibited high sensitivity and concentration-dependent responses to female sex pheromones.
- Wall-pore sensilla are male-specific in *A. bruennichi*, absent in females and subadult males.
- Preliminary data suggest wall-pore sensilla evolved at least once and were lost multiple times within spiders.
Conclusions:
- Male *A. bruennichi* use specific leg sensilla for detecting female pheromones, revealing a novel olfactory mechanism.
- The presence and distribution of wall-pore sensilla vary across spider families, indicating complex evolutionary patterns.
- This research expands knowledge of spider sensory ecology and arthropod olfaction evolution.
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