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Sex pheromone released as an aerosol by the moth Pyrrharctia isabella

Nature volume 333, pages 263–265 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

In most moth species the female sex pheromone evaporates from the surface of a gland that is everted and exposed to the air1–3. Considerable attention has been directed towards the pheromone biology of arctiid moths because (1) the female pheromone gland is atypical, consisting of a branched tube or pair of tubes that is invaginated into the haemocoel and opens dorsally between the eight and ninth abdominal segments4–5, and (2) pheromone release behaviour ('calling') is also atypical, involving rhythmic protrusion and retraction of the abdominal tip4. This pulsing action, which alternately exposes and occludes the orifice of the pheromone gland, is thought to result in the expulsion of discrete puffs of pheromone in the vapour phase4. We now report that calling females of the arctiid species, Pyrrharctia isabella, emit a visible stream of liquid droplets. This emission consists solely of the sex pheromone, with no incidental material or inert carrier material present in the aerosol. The quantities of pheromone released in this way are the largest known for a female moth. Also this is the first report of an airborne sex-attractant released as a liquid.

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Author notes

  1. Stuart B. Krasnoff

    Present address: Boyce Thompson Institute, Tower Road, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New York, 14456, USA

    Stuart B. Krasnoff & Wendell L. Roelofs

Authors
  1. Stuart B. Krasnoff
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  2. Wendell L. Roelofs
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Krasnoff, S., Roelofs, W. Sex pheromone released as an aerosol by the moth Pyrrharctia isabella. Nature 333, 263–265 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333263a0

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