Volatile compounds from a Parnassiinae butterfly, Luehdorfia japonica (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)

Abstract

　Male adults of several species in the family Papilionidae emit characteristic odors. However, it remains unclear whether the presence of male-specific volatiles is a common trait in this family, because the chemistry of adult odors has been investigated in only a limited number of species belonging to the Papilioninae subfamily. We conducted gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses of the highly volatile substances of the Parnassiinae butterfly, Luehdorfia japonica （Lepidoptera, Papilionidae）, using solvent extracts of laboratory-reared adults. Although this species lacks a strong odor detectable by the human nose, a total of 24 highly volatile compounds were identified from both sexes, and 17 of these compounds were discovered in adult papilionid butterflies. The most abundant component was limonene, which was present at a level of 1 μg per individual on average. Both sexes showed similar compositions of these volatile compounds, with no significant differences in the quantity of each compound between sexes. These results suggest that L. japonica adults possess a common odor in both sexes and lack male-specific volatiles.