%0 Journal Article %T The attraction of virgin female hide beetles (Dermestes maculatus) to cadavers by a combination of decomposition odour and male sex pheromones %A Christian von Hoermann %A Joachim Ruther %A Manfred Ayasse %J Frontiers in Zoology %D 2012 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1742-9994-9-18 %X 1) Are virgin female hide beetles attracted by a combination of cadaver odour and male sex pheromones?2) During which decomposition stage do the first virgin females respond to cadaver odour when combined with male sex pheromones?We found that young virgin females were attracted to the cadaver by a combination of cadaver odour and male sex pheromones. Neither cadaver odour alone nor male sex pheromones alone was significantly more attractive than a solvent control. Our results also gave a weak indication that the first young virgin females respond as early as the post-bloating stage to its associated decomposition odour when combined with male sex pheromones.Our results indicate that freshly emerged males possibly respond to cadaver odour and visit carcasses before virgin females. Being attracted to cadavers when male sex pheromone is perceived as well, virgin females can optimise their reproductive possibilities.The decomposition process of a vertebrate cadaver is accompanied by the entomofaunal succession of a huge richness of carrion-associated species [1]. During the first stage of decomposition, the so-called fresh stage (Table 1), the first arriving insects are members of the families Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae [2]. Their eggs and larvae need moist tissue for successful development [3]. During the next stage, the bloated stage (Table 1), significant maggot masses can be observed [2]. In the post-bloating stage, not only large feeding masses of fly maggots, but also predatory members of the Staphylinidae and Histeridae can be observed in their role as predators of fly maggots and, at the end of this stage, most of the maggots have left their food substrate for pupation [2]. This time point is preferred by adult dermestid beetles (Table 1), because they feed on the remaining cadaver skin and ligamentous tissue [4]. In the next two stages, the advanced decay stage and the dry-remains stage, coleopteran species such as members of the Cleridae, Dermestidae (Ta %K Forensic entomology %K Dermestes maculatus %K (Z9)-unsaturated fatty acid isopropyl esters %K Cadaver odour %K Pheromone %K Piglet cadaver %U http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/9/1/18