Since 1990 studies have been conducted with respect to the chemical communication of the house longhorn beetle Hylotrupes bajulus (L.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). The structure of glands located in the prothorax of the beetles was examined with light and scanning electron microscopy. The analyses of different extracts from beetles resulted in the finding and identification (GC-, GC/MS-, and HR-GC/MS-studies) of specific substances derived from the prothoracal glands: (3R)-3-hydroxy-2-hexanone, (2R,3S)-2,3-hexanediol and (2R,3R)-2,3hexanediol. In wind tunnel experiments, unmated female beetles were attracted over a distance of 1m by males, headspace extracts of males, the 3 major components of the glands as well as by the synthetic blends of the components. Thus, the bioassays revealed the initiation of premating behaviour by emission of a long-range sex pheromone from the male prothoracal glands. The pheromone functions as activator, attractant and possibly aphrodisiac for unmated females. Further studies are conducted with respect to disturbance and prevention of mating behaviour of Hylotrupes bajulus in the attics of houses by using pheromone traps.

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