In Rhodnius, a volatile substance produced by mating pairs is attractive to male insects. The pheromone acts also as a sexual stimulant; males respond in the absence of females by attempting copulation with other males. Air swept over mating pairs and conducted to a cage at a considerable distance proved to be highly attractive to males. Proximity of the sexes, without opportunity for actual contact, does not stimulate production of the pheromone. Since males and females will copulate only after a blood meal, feeding is a prerequisite to pheromone production. Also, unfed males will not respond to the attractant. Males of this nocturnal species were stimulated only in complete darkness.
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Baldwin et al. (1971) studied this question.
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