Pheromone communication is central to the life history of insect parasites. Determining how pheromones affect parasite behavior can provide insights into host-parasite interactions and suggest novel avenues for parasite control. Lice infest thousands of bird and mammal species and feed on the host's feathers or blood. Despite the pervasiveness of lice in wild populations and the costs they exact on livestock and poultry industries, little is known about pheromone communication in this diverse group. Here, we test for pheromone communication in the wing lice (Columbicola columbae) of Rock Doves (Columba livia). Wing lice spend the majority of their lives on bird flight feathers where they hide from host preening by inserting their bodies between coarse feather barbs. To feed, wing lice must migrate to bird body regions where they consume the insulating barbs of contour feathers. We first show that wing lice readily form aggregations on flight feathers. Next, using a Y-tube olfactometer, we demonstrate that wing lice use pheromone communication to move toward groups of nearby conspecifics. This pheromone is likely an aggregation pheromone, as wing lice only produce the pheromone when placed on flight feathers. Finally, we found that when forced to choose between groups of male and female lice, male lice move toward male groups and females toward female groups, suggesting the use of multiple pheromones. Ongoing work aims to determine the chemical identity and function of these pheromones.

中文翻译：

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食羽翅虱（昆虫纲：短翅目）的信息素通讯。

信息素通讯对于昆虫寄生虫的生活史至关重要。确定信息素如何影响寄生虫行为可以深入了解宿主与寄生虫的相互作用，并提出控制寄生虫的新途径。虱子感染数千种鸟类和哺乳动物，并以宿主的羽毛或血液为食。尽管虱子在野生种群中普遍存在，并且给畜牧业和家禽业造成了巨大损失，但人们对这个多样化群体中的信息素交流知之甚少。在这里，我们测试了岩鸽 (Columba livia) 翼虱 (Columbicola columbae) 的信息素通讯。翼虱一生的大部分时间都在鸟类飞行羽毛上度过，它们通过将身体插入粗糙的羽毛倒刺之间来躲避宿主的梳理。为了进食，翅虱必须迁移到鸟类身体区域，在那里它们消耗轮廓羽毛的绝缘倒刺。我们首先证明翼虱很容易在飞羽上形成聚集体。接下来，我们使用 Y 管嗅觉计证明翼虱利用信息素通讯向附近的同种动物群体移动。这种信息素很可能是一种聚集信息素，因为翼虱只有在放在飞羽上时才会产生信息素。最后，我们发现，当被迫在雄性和雌性虱子群体之间进行选择时，雄性虱子会向雄性群体移动，而雌性虱子会向雌性群体移动，这表明使用了多种信息素。正在进行的工作旨在确定这些信息素的化学特性和功能。